Love, Happiness, Sorrow, and Commitment, Leads to
by imaginecreatebefall
Summary: Five years since the last time Rachel and Finn originally were planning to get married. Many things have changed in that time, some, with a lot of unanswered questions, and Santana desperately hoping to reconnect with one of her friends in particular, to get some of those answers.
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of their characters. I'm just a fan looking to explore.)

_Soooo... I've kind have been on a writing rampage this past week. This is my other story that basically took over everything else I have been trying to do this past week, (I will be posting new chapters for my other two ongoing fics in the next few days,) but this one, well, it's become something special to me. It's rated M for future chapters, (fyi next 5 ch. already written so they should be popping up every other day as long as work doesn't get too crazy) This first chap. is mostly light and funny, but there's a lot coming up, drama, pain, love, you name it, it'll be in it at some point, well maybe not sci-fi stuff, but you get the gist...again this is more of a long term story so if it catches your eye, I hope you stay with it._

* * *

Santana closed the door behind her and rolled her eyes as Kurt came running up to her.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, she's fine; she's just driving me crazy as usual, but I haven't killed her... yet. Please tell me you can watch the bride from hell so I can get some air."

"Sure," Kurt answered with a skip. Santana shot her hands up in front of her to shield herself from the ridiculously excited maid of honor.

It had been five years to the date since the last time Finn and Rachel decided to get married and they thought it would be romantic and sentimental to use the same date. Santana, on the other hand, thought it was destined to be a colossal disaster, but when did those two ever listen to her.

Santana decided to take a step outside hoping to get some fresh air, but of course, as soon as she opened the door, she walked into a cloud of smoke. The last thing she wanted was to reek of cigarettes when she looked so incredible in her bridesmaid dress. She still loved that she somehow convinced Rachel that it would probably be best for her to pick out a color and let everyone chose their own dress styles since not only were her bridesmaids of completely different body types, but the last thing people wanted to see was Kurt frolicking down the isle in one.

Although, Santana liked the shorter dress better, Rachel would have lost it, and her ears already felt like they were bleeding from all her yapping about that wedding as it was. So, instead she chose a Crinckled Walter, that fell just inches from her knees and thank god she persuaded Rachel into Lilac, instead of the willow, tangerine mix, or whatever dreadful color she originally wanted.

Other than Kurt, Rachel had Mercedes and some floozy chick from NYADA in her wedding party. Originally, Rachel wanted Quinn, but after her freshman year at Yale, they all started to lose touch with her, and trying to get in touch with Quinn nowadays was nearly impossible. Rachel was already driving her and Kurt up the wall as it was, so after Quinn didn't get back to them on their fifth attempt, they convinced Rachel to ask the floozy from NYADA instead. Santana refused to learn her name, because she was too much like Rachel, and her patience could only handle one bright Berry at a time. They all just hoped Quinn would at least make it back to Lima for the wedding.

Santana used her fake smile to greet a few of the guest as they entered the church, and just as her face started to hurt a real smile shined through as she saw her best friend approach. She ran over and hugged the long blonde trying not to laugh at what she was wearing.

"Is there something wrong?" Brittany asked as Santana pulled back, her eyes not leaving her gown.

"Of course not, you look beautiful, but just out of curiosity, what are you wearing?"

"You said, the hobbit and chewbacca were finally getting married, so I thought it was a Lord of the Rings slash Star Wars themed wedding. I was originally going to wear Princess Lea's gold bikini, but whenever I do her cinnamon bun hairdo I get hungry and think it might be interesting to taste one, and dealing with Lord Tobbington's hairballs is gross enough as it is. Plus, Artie said it would be inappropriate." Santana laughed as she looked over her best friend again, admiring the elegant, light clover gown with a small trail, and shimmering silver headpiece matching one of Arwen's gowns from Lord of the Rings.

"I tried convincing Artie to be Frodo, but he wasn't to keen about me doing those big, hairy feet. So he decided to go as Han Solo, but I don't remember Han ever wearing a jacket and tie, do you?"

"I'm sure he did at some point." Santana answered wanting to save her BFF from thinking too hard. "Well Brit, as always, it's great to see you, but I've got to get back inside and make sure Rachel didn't send Kurt over the edge."

"Edge of what?" Santana was trying to think of a better way to explain what she met when Brittany waved her off. "Never mind, go ahead and get back in there, although I still can't believe you're one of her bridesmaids."

"Hey, it's me. I'm irresistible, you know that."

"True," Brittany leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips before heading inside.

Before going back to Rachel's room, Santana decided to take a peek inside the church to see who was already there. She saw her old cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, who she swore they never invited, yet somehow always managed to show up to all of their events. Tina and Mike were sitting in front of Coach Sylvester; doing everything they could to dodge her whacks to their heads. There were a few more people she recognized including Beiste, Sugar, Sam, and a few more randoms whose names she chose to forget from McKinley. The one and only person she cared about seeing still was nowhere to be found.

"Where the hell is she?"

"Where the hell is who?" A raspy voice whispered into her ear. Santana shot around trying to control her excitement as she scooped Quinn into her arms.

"Q, you bitch, there you are." They both laughed in each others arms.

"It's good to see you too Santana."

"I'm so glad you came," Santana added as she pulled away, taking hold of Quinn's hands.

"Yeah, tell Rachel I'm sorry again for not being able to be one of her bridesmaids."

"Rachel? Hell, you own me an apology. If you thought that girl was an uptight, high maintenance, drama queen, in High School, you should try dealing with her as a bride to be. I'm one drink away from joining a meeting and that's only because murder is apparently frowned upon." Quinn laughed, but Santana's face remained still.

"No, seriously she's nuts. She even sent one of her dads after me when I didn't show up to her pre-wedding rehearsal an hour early last week, yeah you heard me right, a pre-wedding rehearsal."

"I guess I do owe you then, but after the wedding." Santana nodded as she hugged Quinn once more before opening the door for her to head into the church. Santana watched as she joined Brittany and Artie, glad to see all her old friends together again, then turned back around, took a deep breath, and made her way back to bride's room.

"There you are,_ no dad she's here_." Rachel yapped, hanging up the phone.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, I couldn't take the chance of you running off."

"Rachel, I'm not the bride, you are, you're the one that's suppose to run off." Rachel's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"Oh good lord, take it down a notch will ya? I'm just making sure you want to be Mrs. Finn Mcfluberston Hudson for the rest of your life."

"Santana?" Kurt interrupted before Rachel's eyes fell out of her head.

"Oh, it was just one last one for the road, I promise." Kurt and Rachel stared her down for another minute. "Ok, seriously aren't there two other bridesmaids for you two torture, why me?" Rachel gave her a crocked smile before shuffling over to her.

"Because, as much as you hate to admit it, other than Kurt, you're my other best friend," Rachel attempted to hug her, but there was too much of her Satin Ball Gown in the way.

"This is awkward," Santana said bending over uncomfortably, but Rachel didn't let her go.

"You love me and you know it."

"Yea, yea, yea Rach, there's no need to tell everyone though." Rachel straightened herself and reached over for her and Kurt's hand, trying not to cry.

"Before we get this started, I just wanted to thank the two of you one more time. I know I haven't been easy to deal with, especially these past few weeks, but you both stood by me anyway, and I want you both to know how much I love and appreciate you." Kurt started to wave his hand in front of his face and ran over to the mirror to make sure his cover up didn't run as Santana bit her tongue. As much fun as it would have been to continue on with her natural snappy self, this was Rachel's day and she needed to try to be on her best behavior, or at least make sure to be subtle about her future comments and facial expressions.

"You look beautiful Rach, now let's get this show on the road."


	2. Chapter 2

_So again this is a T rated chapter fyi, This one like the first chapter is more light, fun, and humorous, but it'll be building up to a more intense (good and bad) scenes in the next few. Let me know what you think._

* * *

The music began and one by one the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Santana was paired up with Mr. Schue, who they now all call Will, except when he says or does something completely idiotic, which is when Santana pulls out the good old Wilfred on him.

As they neared the end of the aisle, Santana began to pick up the pace.

"What are you doing?" Will asked.

"Puck is escorting Kurt. I want to be able to see some of the looks on his face as Kurt prances down the aisle with him, and I'm probably missing all the good ones wasting my time inching down the aisle with you." Will rolled his eyes as Santana ran up beside Mercedes.

"Well?" Santana whispered into her ear.

"Nothing, in fact, I think Puck might be enjoying the stroll down the aisle more than Kurt."

"Damn, I always knew he was closeted Cher fan." She and Mercedes giggled, triggering a stern look from Finn.

"Oh, calm down Butterball , will zip it once Rachel starts coming down." They both straightened up and looked down the aisle still smirking and Santana caught Quinn's eye who was shaking her head at the two of them. Santana flashed Quinn a big smile just as the processional began. From that point on Santana was on her best behavior, after all, this was actually Rachel's day for once, and she was honored to be apart of it.

* * *

Santana was glad Rachel and Finn took her advice and found a place for the reception right across the street from one of the nicer Hotels in Ohio, so that after they took the bridal party pictures, which were done to the side of the reception hall that had a beautiful fountain and landscape, she could run over to change her shoes.

After hours, of preparation, the ceremony, and pictures, all Santana wanted was a glass of wine. They made their way into the reception hall and after their short introduction; she made a B line to the bar.

"Looking for one of these," whispered the same raspy voice she heard earlier, and Santana lit up as she turned around and saw Quinn with two glasses of white wine in her hand.

"You know, for someone who I haven't seen all that much, your turning into quite the little guardian devil popping up over my shoulder, time and time again."

"Devil?"

"Doesn't the devil show up on the right side, or maybe it's just both sides for me, I was never one for an angel." Quinn laughed as they clicked glasses.

"I'll be your guardian devil any day Miss Lopez." Santana smile, but just as they took a sip of wine, Rachel burst through the two of them breaking up their happy reunion.

"You came," she screeched.

"Of course I did," Quinn hugged Rachel while giving Santana bug eyes as Rachel squeezed all the air out her.

"Come on, you have to dance with me." Quinn froze, unable to respond. Santana held in her laughter as she took Quinn's wine glass.

"I'll take care of this Q, go dance with the crazy bride, or you'll never hear the end of it." Quinn had no time to answer and was being dragged onto the dance floor as Santana downed the one glass of wine, and walked over to her old group of friends to mingle with the other.

After Quinn was done dancing with Rachel she hurried over to their old group to play catch up as well. One by one Rachel would run over and snag one of them, driving them all slightly mad. When it was time for Rachel and Finn to dance to their song though, they all looked on with nothing but love and admiration in their eyes.

Afterwards there was another slow song and each pair from their group, new and old, went out onto the dance floor, leaving just Santana and Quinn.

"Can I have this dance?" Quinn asked crossing over the table. Santana flashed her a smile and took Quinn's hand, gracefully making their way onto the dance floor. It was nice to see everyone together again and getting along. Even Coach Sylvester snagged Will for a dance, although she insisted on leading. Santana glanced up at one point, noticing an obvious smirk on Quinn's face.

"What's going on in that pretty blonde head of yours?" Quinn's smirk faded and her face began to flush.

"I was just thinking about the last time we slowed dance together." Now Santana was the one grinning.

"Hoping to stir up some after wedding magic again, are we?" Quinn laughed.

"No, that's not what I was implying."

"Uh, hu," Santana pulled Quinn closer, just as the song came to the end. "Maybe next time Q," Santana added with a wink as she walked away.

The rest of the evening the old New Directions shared a number of stories of laughter, some tears, tore up the dance floor, and even performed a few of their classics. It was like they never left one another. As the evening began to slowly come to an end, one by one the rest of the guest left, leaving the old group alone to bond, except for one of them. Santana looked up at one point and spotted Quinn on the phone arguing with someone. She didn't want to interrupt Quinn's intense conversation, so she continued to mingle with everyone else, but the next time she looked up, Quinn was gone.

After the reception they all moved over to the bar at the Hotel to continue their night of reliving memories. Santana tried calling Quinn at some point, but it went straight to voice-mail.

"Hey Q, it's me, we're all at the Hotel now, so either meet us at the bar, or at least call me back. You better not disappear on us for another four years, especially without saying goodbye." Santana looked down at her phone concerned, but went back to enjoy her time with her old friends, making new memories for them to all remember down the road.

Santana had pretty decent buzz as she made her way up to her room, she was just about to pass out when there was a knock at her door.

"Oh, my god guys seriously, I'm beat," she sluggish said opening the door.

"I'm sorry Santana, I just wanted to say goodbye, go ahead and go to bed, you look exhausted."

"Wait," Santana reached out and snagged Quinn's arm before she had a chance to walk away. "Where have you been?"

"Dealing with my ex."

"This entire time?" Quinn rolled her eyes and nodded. "Come on, Q I may be tired, but I can definitely handle another drink or two, of course, I'm expecting you to take care of me if I'm wrong." Quinn laughed as she followed her in the room without protest.

"You would like that wouldn't you?" Santana laughed as she made her way over to the mini bar. "Oh, San those are way too expensive, I don't need a drink that badly.

"Don't sweat it, the happy newlyweds are paying for the bridal party rooms, god bless the gay and rich." All Quinn could do was shake her head and chuckle.

Santana made up some of her very special Mai Tai's, or what she called Auntie Tana's Magic Juice, and handed Quinn a glass as she plopped on the floor.

"Ok cutie Q, start talking."

"Oh, god you're not going to last." Santana looked up at her with her eyes half-opened grinning.

"So little faith, you know me better than that, now start, at the beginning." Quinn knew there was no point in ever arguing with her and started to talk.

"Ok, well my ex, Brian and I were kind of together for about a year and he wanted more, but…"

"No, no, no, the beginning." Quinn looked at her beyond confused.

"I am." Santana, who was now starting to feel the full magnitude of her drinking that night ungracefully threw her arm around Quinn's shoulder.

"Q, we all lost almost all contact with you toward the end of your freshman year at Yale, so that's were you will start my friend, the beginning of the lost years of Quinn."

"Um," she started helping Santana sit up, "are you sure?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Santana replied clicking their drinks together, then quickly licking her hand from the overflow.

Quinn waited for Santana to become as settled as she was going to be before starting. After her freshman year she realized, although she loved coming back and seeing her friends and family that each time she did they were a distraction and it was becoming harder for her to get back to routine at school. She was at Yale for crying out loud, she needed to focus on her studies not her social life. She stopped dating entirely, with the exception of the occasionally booty call from her buddy Abel, who came to the same conclusion she did when it came to dating while attending a top Ivy League School. Their deal was perfect, he was decent enough in bed, there was no foreplay, or afterward cuddles. He would always be polite and offer her a drink, but after that they would get right to it, then be on their way. She dove into her studies and at the start of her sophomore year she decided she wanted to be a Criminal Psychologist. She chose that because she knew that those people had to be more messed up than her train wreck of a life and plowed forward into her studies. Quinn ended up getting an internship right out of her senior year with the help of one of her professors.

"Did you sleep with him?" Santana interrupted raising her eyebrows.

"No, I didn't sleep with _her_, but I thought about it."

"Her? You thought about sleeping with another chick huh?" Quinn grinned.

"Why not? From my experiences, women usually know how to get to the right places better and faster." Santana gave her a sly smile before waving Quinn to go on.

Quinn's most recent ex, Brain and she started dating toward the end of her senior year. Abel had found a girlfriend he was head over heels for, so their deal had come to an end, and Quinn was starting to become depressed with her lack of companionship.

"Brain was one of those typical, sweet gentlemen types who always opened doors and never yelled or said no."

"Yuck, I hate those types." Quinn laughed. "No, seriously those are the types that will either bore you to death or turn out to be a serial killer. Hey, he might be one of your patients one day." Quinn playfully slapped Santana on the knee.

"Stop it, but your right about the one thing, he was pretty boring, and could never pick up on the fact that our relationship wasn't going anywhere. So, what did he do instead, he proposed." Santana spit some of her drink out.

"Damn."

"I know."

"No, not that, well yeah that too, but I was mostly referring to the fact that you startling me made me spit out the last sip of my drink out, what a waste." Quinn shook her head.

"Maybe we should finish up this conversation in the morning."

"No, no," Santana added crawling over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "I'm good; I'm just going to sit up in bed." Quinn stood up and pulled the sheets back for Santana and once she was settle in, covered her up. "Thanks Q, now get that sexy little butt in here and finish telling me about your boring, possible sociopath ex."

"He's not a sociopath San," she answered sitting down next to her.

"We'll see. He snapped at you tonight right? He needs to do a better job at concealing his crazy side."

"That's true, sociopaths are usually calm and collected when dealing with the normal people in their life, to keep up appearances, but we're getting off track. Yes, he snapped at me tonight, but he had a good reason. He kept pleading with me to come back to him and finally I let it all out, how I never loved him, how I never felt anything for him, that I was only with him to fill a void, and nothing more."

"Ouch."

"Yea, every once in a while that almighty bitch from high school pops out and attacks."

"Good to know." Santana went to click Quinn's glass with her water bottle, but she had finished her drink awhile ago, and gave her knuckles instead.

"He needed to hear it though; I mean this was the third time he called today confessing his undying love for me. I guess he was hoping that me going to a wedding would make me see things differently and realize we were meant to be." Santana made a gagging noise. "Exactly, so again I tried to be nice, but after a few glasses of wine, my patience was lacking, and I completely lost it. I went off on him for a good half hour, and in turn, I unleashed this monster within him and he started calling me all sorts of hateful things."

"Like what?" Quinn sighed.

"Think of every nasty thing you called me in High school and multiply it by a hundred."

"That's a lot of heat."

"Tell me about it, you know, now that I think about it he could turn out to be a murdering sociopath, I mean no one would ever believe me if I told them the things he said to me. Somehow, I still think they would all see me as the manipulative crazy bitch and see him as the all mighty saint I hurt.

"Told you," Quinn laughed as Santana tried not to fade. She glanced down and smiled before getting up from the bed.

"Anyway, as much as I would love to hear how things are with you, you need to get some sleep. So, we'll talk tomorrow."

"That's fine, but where are you going?" Santana asked confused.

"To my room."

"Come on Q, just stay here for the night. It's almost three in the morning, and I know you, after getting all worked up like that you don't sleep well, unless you have someone near you." Quinn looked over at her somewhat hesitant. "Oh stop it, I don't bite, well not in my sleep, I don't think." Quinn laughed.

"Ok, thanks San."

"Not a problem, plus who knows, I'm ok now, but I still may need you to hold my hair back just in case the party in my stomach wants a quick exit."

"Wow, that was sexy." Santana giggled already closing her eyes.

"You love me." Quinn scooted up next to Santana and began to brush her hair as she started to fall sleep.

"Yes I do, you crazy Latina."


	3. Chapter 3

_A little late with the update, however the next two chapters will be posted back to back, you'll see why once they're up. Anyway, yes this is still T rated at the moment, slowly building up to a few things, some good, some bad. Thanks again for all the support and reviews._

* * *

Santana moaned as she tossed and turned in bed the next morning.

"You all right over there?" Santana glanced up and saw Quinn sitting over by the window reading.

"You're still here?" She asked still trying to find her voice.

"Did you want me to go?"

"Of course not," she answered falling back down on the pillow. Quinn laughed as she walked over with a bottle of water. "Thanks," Santana mumbled not moving much as she reached out for it.

"Don't worry, the goodbye breakfast was canceled. Apparently, we missed an all-nighter. Puck and Sam had conjoined rooms and kept the party going until sunrise, almost getting kicked out of the hotel twice with all their karaoke and dancing." Santana let out a small chuckle. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Sleep," she grunted.

"Santana, it's almost time to check out, but if you want, you can crawl over to my room. I'm staying an extra night." Santana let out another grunt as she rolled out of the bed. She looked around the room and laughed at her liquor bottle pyramid she somehow managed to make the night before. She stumbled into the bathroom to start packing up her things, but they were already packed up.

"Did you pack up all my things?" Quinn peeked her head around the corner.

"Yeah, well I don't sleep much after a night of fighting and drinking."

"Nice, thanks. I'll keep that in mind next time I need my apartment cleaned." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Come on; get that cute ass in gear. I'm in room 228, just grab all your shit and meet me over there, we'll order some room service and just relax."

"Sounds good to me."

Santana moved about the room sluggishly. She wasn't too hung over, she could usually handle her liquor better than the average girl; it was the lack of sleep that was kicking her butt. She wasn't sure if she should ask Quinn about what happened while they were sleeping last night, afraid it would upset her. But Santana was concerned about what happened, and the more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. She put it out of her mind for the moment so she could make sure everything was packed up, then check out via TV. She took one last glance around the room satisfied that Quinn really did get everything, grabbed her bags and headed to Quinn's room.

When Quinn opened the door she was only in a towel, causing Santana's eyes to open wide.

"Nice greeting," Quinn smirked.

"Yea, I thought you'd appreciate it, now hurry up in here and tell me what you want to eat, I'm starving." As Quinn headed back to the bathroom, Santana couldn't help but tilt her head to try and get a better view up Quinn's towel, how could she resist? Quinn glanced over her shoulder and started to laugh.

"Food, horn dog."

"Yes, dear," Santana tossed her bags on the chair, picked up the menu, and hopped on the bed. The typical things one would order after a night of drinking would do, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, chicken fingers, even chancing the jalapeño poppers sounded good. When Quinn walked out of the bathroom she was in one of the hotel robes.

"Ok, after you eat, you should take a shower and put on one of these, I've never felt anything so soft." Santana resisted the temptation to say something snappy, and just smiled at the perky blonde.

"Well if I end up looking half as happy as you do right now, I'll give it a whirl. I haven't seen you smile like that in ages."

When room service arrived Santana filled Quinn in on her own exciting life in the city. She stayed at the Coyote Ugly bar for a few years and actually formed a small band while working there. Most of their gigs they picked up took place in the metro area, which included parts of Jersey and Connecticut.

"I tried to call and have you come down to Bridgeport to see us perform once, but you never answered."

"Bridgeport's not the safest place, you know?"

"It was on the outskirts Q, closer to Fairfield actually," Santana replied somewhat annoyed.

"Sorry Santana, I know I've been a terrible friend."

"Pretty much," she let slip out accidentally. "Crap, I'm sorry Q." Automatically thinking about what had happened while they were sleeping.

"It's ok, I deserved that, but I'm here now, so go on and fill me in on everything else, unless you don't want to." Santana reached over and rubbed Quinn's arm while giving her a soft smile before going on reassuring her that she was happy Quinn was there.

Although the band thing was fun, she didn't see them breaking through the main stream and decided she needed to concentrate on a more stable career.

"You're a life coach?" Quinn interrupted, after spitting out her drink.

"That's right." Quinn couldn't stop laughing. "Hey some people appreciate a swift kick in the butt to help get things on the right track and keep themselves motivated."

"I thought life coaches were suppose to be more happy, encouraging, and well boppy type of people."

"Every client is different Q. I usually don't do too much cheer-leading so to speak, but it's actually a great job. Plus, it gives me a flexible schedule so if they ever need help at the bar I can step in and lend them a hand, plus I can continue working with the band.

"Sounds like you do it all." Santana's face lit up.

"Yeah, it's a pretty damn good life."

"And the dating world?" Santana rolled her eyes.

"I had one serious relationship that lasted almost two years, another blonde of course, her name was Hayden."

"And what happened?

"Nothing bad, we were just on two different pages. She wanted to settle down somewhere upstate, you know, a nice ranch house, with a white picket fence and I had no desire to leave the city at the time." Santana looked away for a moment shaking her head. She didn't look back up until she felt Quinn's hand rubbing her leg.

"You regret it?" Santana wiped her eyes before her tears had a chance to fall.

"No, not really. It worked out for the best; Hayden is a really good person and is happily engaged now. I just didn't realize how lucky I was to find a girl like that until I started dating again. There are a lot of wackos out there. And now that things are finally falling into place, I wouldn't mind finding someone to settle down with and eventually start a family."

"Why, Miss Santana Lopez, I had no idea you had such domestic desires." Santana whacked Quinn across the arm.

"Yeah I blame Berry for that, but no upstate for me, maybe Connecticut or Massachusetts." Quinn perked up.

"Trying to come up to my neck of the woods huh?"

"Possibly, when I find the right girl, but for now, I'm loving the magnificent island of Manhattan, and I refuse to end our relationship prematurely." Quinn laughed. They chatted a little bit more, but the shower started to sound real good. So Santana headed to the bathroom as Quinn began to tidy up the room a bit.

Santana's skin seemed particularly sensitive as the water flowed down her body, washing away all the drinks she consumed the night before. Between the food and the shower she was starting to feel like herself again, but slipping into the robe was the final touch.

"Oh my god," she screamed, causing Quinn to come running in.

"Are you ok?"

"Q, this may be one of the most glorious things that has ever been wrapped around, my fabulously, sexy body." Quinn dropped her hand from her heart and shook her head as she left the bathroom. "No, I'm serious, and I've had my share of wonderful things wrapped around me." She added, winking at Quinn who was still shaking her head at her.

"What are you trying to say, that you enjoy the robe more than you enjoyed me?" She replied with an evil smirk, making Santana laugh.

"Now, now Q, don't be jealous of the robe."

"I've got my own remember?"

"So, you tell me then, which is better, me or the robe?" Quinn kept her smirk on as she continued to shake her head.

"Is your head stuck like that?" Quinn heaved a pillow at her, but Santana caught it easily. "Interesting, still no answer."

"Wow, you really think you're that good?" Santana inched her way over to Quinn and moved up close to her ear.

"Unlike most men, I know what an orgasm feels like when I'm inside a girl, especially the good ones. So no, I don't think I'm that good, I know I am."

Santana fell back on the bed and rolled over to grab the water bottle leaving Quinn speechless. As much fun as she was having toying with Quinn though, she couldn't shake what happened while she was sleeping and since they were in a cheerful mood she thought it would help soften what she was about to ask.

"Hey Q," she started as a bubbly, flushed Quinn looked over at her. "Do you remember having any bad dreams last night?" Quinn's demeanor immediately shifted. The bright, flirty girl that was just there had vanished and an empty, stiff Quinn remained.

"No, did I kick you or something?"

"Not exactly," Quinn walked over to the dresser drawers frazzled. "You were actually screaming a lot and you kept repeating the same two phrases over and over."

"Well, like you said, it was probably just a nightmare or something. Why are you even asking me about this?" She said in a snappy tone as she slipped on her underwear under the robe, then dropped it exposing her bare back to Santana before slipping on a baby blue sundress. Santana didn't like how this was turning out. She and Quinn were finally getting back to a great place in their friendship, even doing a little flirting, and she had to go ahead and bulldoze it down, but there was no dropping the subject now.

"Q, it's pretty obvious by your reaction that this isn't just an ordinary nightmare, can you please just talk to me?" But Quinn was now completely ignoring her and grabbed her purse. "Where are you going?"

"You said you were tired right? I'm just gonna go out for a little bit so you can sleep."

"Quinn wait," but it was too late, Quinn had already stormed out of the room, letting the door slam behind her. Santana tired to chase after her, but by the time she opened the door, Quinn had already round the corner.


	4. Chapter 4a

_Ok so again, I split this chapter in two, because it's leading to something I want to be able to warn people about before they read on, (the second part will be up within the hour of this one being posted fyi.) Originally, the title of this fic was supposed to be, **A Time to Remember, A Time to forget**, but the title was too close to another fic I wrote and I wanted to separate them a bit. Of course, I really loved this title so I wanted to share it with all of you._

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Sleeping was the last thing Santana could do, but Quinn wasn't picking up her phone so there was no way in telling where she ran off to. She tried calling Brittany, Mercedes, even Puck, but they had already left and hadn't heard from her either. Santana decided to get change and walk around the lobby. She didn't bring anything special to wear since she was originally planning to go home for one more night before heading back to the city the next day and just threw on her jeans and a tight Pat Benatar t-shirt, then headed for the door; thankful that Quinn didn't take the spare key with her when she stormed out.

There was no sign of Quinn in the main lobby or the deck area, so Santana headed over to the bar. It was still early in the day so no one was at the bar, but the restaurant was open so she decided to take a look around. Santana was relieved when she saw Quinn sitting in the back corner of the restaurant having a drink and staring out the window. Quinn was so involved in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Santana was there until she sat down across from her.

"Jesus, I thought you were tired."

"Sorry, I startled you, I couldn't sleep." Santana looked over at Quinn who had already turned her head away from her again. "And did you actually expect me to, obviously something is bothering you. Was it just a dream or is it something worse?" Santana cocked her head and Quinn was clearly trying to hold back tears. "It's something worse, isn't it?" Quinn turned back to look Santana in the eyes.

"It's nothing; I haven't had those nightmares in months. I should have known after getting all worked up with Brain yesterday it would have triggered them to come back."

"Did that so called sweet x of yours do something to you?" Santana asked becoming furious.

"Santana please calm down," Quinn started taking a glance around the restaurant, "and no, Brain never laid a hand on me." Santana took a deep breath, reached over the table, and took a hold of Quinn's hands.

"Something happened toward the end of your freshman year, didn't it?" Not only could Quinn not hold her tears back anymore, but shock showed up all over her face.

"How do you figure that?" Santana did her best to hide the hurt she felt from seeing Quinn so broken and lifted up her hand to wipe away a few of Quinn's tears.

"Because that's when you shut all of us out. We barely spoke to you, let alone saw you." Quinn closed her eyes, hoping to shut her tears off. "Quinn what happened? You can tell me." But she just shook her head.

"Can I get you something to drink?" The waiter asked, popping up out of nowhere. Santana's head snapped up at him.

"Really? Does this look like a good time to butt in and take a drink order?" The waiter, of course, looked terrified as Santana's eyes refused to blink as she glared up at him.

"I'm sorry miss," he answered as he scampered off, getting a slight chuckle out of Quinn. Santana looked over at her still annoyed.

"I'm sorry about the pompous idiot."

"It's ok."

"I guess it's a good thing I don't plan on drinking anything, although I don't know if he even has the balls to give me a loggie special." Although Santana was trying to lighten the mood a bit, Quinn's laughter came to a complete halt.

"What did I say?" She let slip out, Santana assumed she was referring to her nightmare, but she wanted to be absolutely certain.

"While you were sleeping?" Quinn paused for a moment and then began to nod. Santana looked at Quinn and felt tears of her own starting to build up, but she knew there was no way she could start getting emotional, she needed to be the strong, resilient Santana now. "You were screaming, stay away from me, and get your fucking hands off me." Quinn had a hard time catching her breath as she stared off into emptiness while her body appeared to go limp. Santana went over and sat next to her, slowly putting her arm around the fragile blonde.

"Come on Q, let's head back to the room." Somehow, Quinn gave her a light nod as Santana gently took her hand, and guided her out of the restaurant.


	5. Chapter 4b

_Ok so here's part two of chapter 4. I'm assuming a number of you already see where this is going, but I wanted to break this chapter apart anyway so that those who are uncomfortable or don't like reading stories about sexual assault don't go on to part b. I hope I don't upset too many people with this, but this was the way this story was going on from the beginning, so there was no going back once I got writing. I tried to do this carefully, because I didn't feel the need to go into crazy specifics, but needless to say, it's still there, and I wanted to warn people ahead of time. For those of you reading, let me know if it what you think, good or bad._

**_(Trigger Warning; sexual assault mentioned below)_**

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When they walked into the hotel room Santana went to get Quinn some water, but Quinn refused to let go of her hand and they took a seat at the end of the bed. They sat there for a while in silence, Santana wanting nothing more, but to help the girl, who although she rarely spoke with anymore was still one of her best friends.

It felt like they sat there in silence for hours, Santana making sure to show Quinn nothing but patience. She knew she would start talking when she was ready.

"It's not what you think," Quinn said softly as she stared down at the ground. Santana looked up at her confused.

"How do you mean? You're not trying to excuse what happened to you are you?" She responded making sure to control her tone, because even though the thought of someone hurting Quinn infuriated her, she needed to remain composed so Quinn would feel comfortable talking to her.

"No, it just didn't get that far. It was close, very close, but I somehow managed to escape before…" Santana choked up along with Quinn who couldn't finish her words, but still somehow remained calm.

"Before you were raped," Quinn nodded. For the first time Santana was nervous to touch Quinn, but Quinn was the one holding tight to her hand so she had to have been ok. Santana carefully switched hands with the one Quinn was holding so that she could wrap her arm around her, Quinn automatically falling into her as her hand reached around her waist.

Another long moment passed before Quinn sat back up and took a deep breath. Santana adjusted herself to give Quinn some space, but kept her hand with hers. She too took a few breaths, hoping she wouldn't lash out at the door, or pillow, or whatever was closest to her fist.

"I've never told anyone about this San, and I mean absolutely no one. My life had been one disaster after another, and after this happened, something changed. I was sick of people walking eggshells around me, I was sick of people looking at me like, oh there's the pregnant teenager, or the girl who went crippled for awhile, or the nut job who tired to steal her baby back. I was done with it, all of it. So, I pushed what happened to me away, and anyone that would know that there was something wrong with me even further away. I focused all my energy on school, that's how I was going to rid myself of the old me." Quinn's tears splashed on Santana's hand, but she didn't flinch. She wasn't going anywhere unless Quinn asked her to, but she wanted her to feel better about something as she recalled this horrifying event.

"I get why you pushed us away, it's ok Q, I understand now." Quinn shook her head violently.

"It's not ok. I shut you all out, everyone that was important to me I tossed to the side. And yeah, I did well at Yale, but it was like I was dead inside the entire time." Quinn looked up at her. "Seriously San, I felt nothing. I used Abel because I hand an itch that needed to be taken care of a few times a semester, but it was pointless, and I knew it every time, and yet, I still did it. I went through the motions and although my body was there, my mind was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until last year that I actually started to feel attracted to people again, but I refused to act on them, feeling too afraid of what might happen if I started to let people in again. After Abel, I found Brain, who was safe, and I used him because he was safe. It was like I didn't want anyone to know me, but I still needed to have a physical presence there." Quinn stood up and walked across the room to grab a few tissues, then began to pace back and forth. Santana looked on wanting to make sure she was ok, but remained seated.

"Quinn, I'm really proud and happy that you're starting to let this out, but we can take a break, if you want. You don't have to let it all out in one bug chunk, we can take baby steps, whatever you want, we'll do. I'll be here no matter what." Quinn looked over at her and burst out laughing, making Santana a little uneasy.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

"You," Santana was beyond confused. Quinn stopped laughing and smiled at her instead. "Most of the time in high school you were the biggest bitch, and I mean the biggest, ultimate bitch at times. Deep inside I knew how sweet and caring you could be, but it was rare to see it back then. And now," Quinn took a step toward her, "I don't think you've ever looked at me with so much care in your eyes, and after what I did to you and everyone else, I don't deserve it." Quinn turned, but Santana snagged her arm as she rose from the bed.

"Look at me Q," but she didn't budge, "Quinn, please, look at me." As Quinn turned, Santana gently rubbed her cheek and lifted her chin. "You deserve nothing but love and care. Something traumatic happened to you, I don't care how far this son of a bitch took it, your mind dealt with it the best way it knew how to. I don't blame you for shutting us out, for shutting me out." Santana continued to brush her face softly as she stared into Quinn's hurting eyes. "I'm here now, and you're talking, and when you're ready to tell me more of what happened, I'll still be right here. In fact, I'm not going anywhere until we begin to break this wall of yours down so you can begin to feel again." Quinn fell into her arms and Santana held her tightly as she sobbed. "I love you Quinn."

"I love you too," she muffled into her shoulder. Santana stroked her hair as they stood there for a while. She still couldn't believe that his happened to her. If she had just went up to Yale like she had planned to after Mr. Schue's non-wedding, and told her that what happened between them meant more to her than just a one night thing, maybe this wouldn't have happened. But no, instead she denied herself that option, thinking she didn't want to lose Quinn as a friend, which sadly happened anyway. She was furious at herself, but she needed to push that away right now, she couldn't change the past, and Quinn needed her to stay focus and strong on what she was going through at the moment.

Finally, Quinn pulled away and went to the bathroom to clean up a bit. When she came back she crawled into the bed.

"Do you think you can just hold me for a little bit?"

"Sure," Santana replied, making her way under the sheets and wrapping her arms around Quinn. Santana took a few deep breaths, hoping Quinn would be able to pick up on her breathing and start to soothe her. Quinn traced her fingers up and down Santana's arm, which was tucked just under her breast, occasionally letting out a simple sigh, making Santana think that her breathing trick was working.

Santana began to think that maybe they were just going to take a nap, as Quinn decided on what to do and say, but then Quinn began to talk.

"It was that professor." Santana tried not to react, but she must have squeezed Quinn a little bit, who in return patted her arm before turning to face her. Quinn lay on her side and took Santana's hand as she continued. "It was only a few weeks after Mr. Schue's Valentine's Day disaster of a wedding." Again, she stopped after Santana squeezed her hand again. "You're not going to break my hand are you?" Santana took another deep breath, trying not to hate herself for disrupting her.

"No, I'm sorry Q, go ahead."

"He cornered me one night after one of our final classes, saying that he had something important to tell me. I said no of course, but he begged with me to hear him out. So, even though I could have cared less about what he had to say, I said ok, thinking at the time, it was best to keep things civil around campus." Quinn looked down and her hair fell in front of her face, Santana gently pushed it away taking in Quinn's pain, hating this man more than anyone else she'd ever known for what he did to her.

"So, of course he apologized and pleaded with me to go back to him. He said he was in the process of divorcing his wife and that we could finally be together. I said no realizing once and for all, that I was never going to let my life revolve around a man ever again, and started to walk away. As I went for the door though, it was locked, and he started to pull me back. At first I was just pissed and jerked my arm away, as I yelled at him to stay away from me." Quinn paused, as she began to shake her head as Santana controlled the fire building up inside her.

"I couldn't believe what happened next; even now I don't think I would have been able to predict it. He grabbed my arm again, snapped me around to face him and slapped me across the face so hard I took a chunk of my cheek as I bit down causing me to scream in agony, I don't know how no one heard me, even with the doors closed." Santana closed her eyes for a moment to control her burning tears, but when she reopened them, they still found a way out. Quinn was about to stop, but she shook her head.

"No, don't you worry about me, go on." Quinn took a few breaths to gather her strength and looked back into Santana's eyes.

"He scooped me up and threw me down on the back desk where no one could see and said he needed me. I kicked and swatted, but he countered my every move, and pinned me down." Santana inched closer to Quinn, although hesitant at first, Quinn nodded to her and she reached out and began to rub her side. Quinn tried to catch up on her breathing, taking in the comfort Santana was trying to rub into her. She may have to relive this experience with words, but it was over, and Santana wanted her to know that she would remain with her for as long as she needed so she could get through it all.

"He ripped open my blouse, and went for my breast, somehow I managed to get a hand free and smacked him, but doing that made him angrier and he hit me again." Santana nodded along, not wanting Quinn to stop as she controlled her body from shaking. "I was a little out of it for a moment, and took me another minute to realize that not only were his pants undone, but his hand was already under my skirt, attempting to move my underwear over with his nasty plumped fingers." Quinn was now getting worked up and Santana gave her hand a few squeezes, letting her know she was still there.

"I can still hear and feel his heavy breathing as he tried to bring his mouth down to mine. Somehow my brain knew this was my only chance, and I kicked up my knee into his chin as he came down to me, then swung as hard as I possibly could with my right fist. While this was happening, I was screaming, get your fucking hands off me. All I know is that I startled or knocked him out long enough for me to get out of there. I didn't care about my bags, I didn't care that my clothes were torn and falling off me, I just ran." Santana nodded, unable to speak yet. There was an animal inside her wanting to be unleashed at this man. She wanted to scream, she wanted to curse, she wanted to kill this sorry son of a bitch, but the last thing Quinn needed was for to lose it and again she found the strength to put away her rage and focus solely on Quinn.

"And no one knew?" Quinn let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"Either that or no one cared to ask. I adjusted my outfit as I made my way to my dorm and said I misplaced my dorm key to get back into my room. The next day, campus police stopped by and said they found my purse with everything still inside, completely oblivious to all my cover up on my face, and left it at that."

"Jack-ass Ivy Leaguers." Quinn now let out a soft normal laugh as she reached up and touched Santana's face.

"It's not like I was planning on telling anyone, it's been almost four years Santana and you're the first person I've told." The pain for her was all over Santana's face as Quinn continued to rub her face now.

"Wait, what are you doing, I'm supposed to be the one consoling you?" Santana said reaching up to touch her hand.

"You have, thank you." They both glanced away, trying to push out the anger that kept building up inside. Santana looked back at Quinn, completely blown away that she had dealt with this by herself for four years, but relieved that she was finally able to divulge the awful event to her.

"So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, I'm pretty tired and since I know you are, how about we take a nap."

"Are you sure? After telling me all of that you can actually sleep?" Quinn nodded.

"It's over, I'll be all right. Plus, I have you here to protect me." Santana smiled as she opened her arms. Quinn leaned in and softly kissed her lips, catching Santana off guard, then she crept up tight and placed her head on Santana's chest as they laid down. Santana made sure to keep a firm hold on Quinn while she fell asleep to reassure her that she was there for her, and would keep her safe.


	6. Chapter 5

_It's funny, this fic is not nearly as popular as my other two fics I have going right now, but each time I post a new chapter with this one I get more nervous, mostly because I want to make sure certain things were done and worded properly with chapter 4, but also I want things to be seen as acceptable and believable with the next upcoming chapters. Let me know what you all think._

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When Santana opened her eyes Quinn was still wrapped around her, but she could tell she was awake by the way she was tickling her side.

"Did you sleep?" Santana asked as she began to stroke Quinn's hair.

"No, I really wasn't that tired," Santana shifted over a bit.

"But you said," Quinn smirked up at her.

"I know what I said. I knew you were exhausted and I needed to be held, so it worked out pretty well didn't it?"

"I would have held you regardless." Quinn leaned up and gave Santana a kiss on the cheek before rolling out of bed.

"I know."

"So, what's the plan?" Santana asked as she started stretched.

"Not sure, I wasn't expecting any company tonight. I figured you guys would all be off, well you know, doing whatever it is that you've been doing these last four years." Santana laughed as she swung her legs over the bed.

"Well, I don't go back to New York until tomorrow and since I've been here all week dealing with wedding stuff, I've seen plenty of my friends and family. So, I'm all yours." Quinn shot her head around and smirked.

"All mine huh?" Santana went to laugh, but instead her face fell as she recalled the conversation they had just a few hours earlier.

"Yeah, I need to make sure you'll be ok." Quinn's face softened as she walked over to the bed and took a seat next to her.

"I'll be ok, it was four years ago, and besides, it was nothing compared to what most woman go through during these ordeals." Santana's head jerked at her.

"Jesus Quinn is that what you've been telling yourself all these years." Santana stood up and started to pace around the room, no longer able to control her emotions. "That gutless, piece of shit tried to rape you and you suffered from it. You pushed us all away trying to deal with it. I know it _could_ have been worse, but look at the emotional damage that son of a bitch did to you." Quinn was hesitant to stand up, which made Santana feel even worse about not being able to bit her tongue any longer. "Oh god Q, I'm sorry. Here I am saying I'll be here for you and I completely lose it." Quinn let out a small laugh.

"You were beyond incredible listening to me earlier San, and to be perfectly honest, the part I was most impressed with, was how you kept yourself together. I was expecting you to pop at least a half dozen times when I was telling you what happened to me." Santana tried to smile, but there was just so much going through her as she recalled every detail Quinn revealed to her.

"I just keep thinking that I should have been there." Quinn shook her head with a confused look on her face and reached over to give Santana's hand a squeeze.

"Don't do that, you had no idea what was going to happen. Plus why would you even be up at Yale?" Santana went to open her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes began to water and she turned away from Quinn. "Hey," Quinn reached out for her to turn back around. "Why are you blaming yourself? Come on Santana look at me, there was nothing you or anyone else for that matter could have done." But Santana still couldn't look up at her. All she could picture was that scum of a man touching her and thinking that maybe things could have been different if she had just went up to Yale.

"Santana please, look at me." Santana huffed as she looked up into Quinn's caring eyes.

"I should have been there." Quinn took her hand and guided her over to the bed to sit.

"Again, why would you be at Yale to begin with?" Santana sniffed as she tried to stop her body from shaking from being so furious at herself.

"I was thinking of going up to Yale to surprise you after Mr. Schue's sham of a wedding." Quinn handed her a tissue and softly smiled as she tilted her head to look at her.

"Ok, even if you did come up to Yale and surprise me, how would that change things? He was one of my professors and assaulted me after class."

"Yeah, but if we…" But Santana stopped mid sentence. The last thing she wanted was to make Quinn uncomfortable after everything she had just revealed to her.

"But if we what?" Quinn asked.

"It's nothing," but Quinn refused to let her off the hook so easily.

"It's not nothing, you're upset because you think you coming up to Yale would have change things somehow. Why were you thinking of coming up there to see me anyway?" Santana again tried to shrug it off.

"Will you please tell me?" Santana looked up and became lost in Quinn's eyes. The only other time Quinn had had this affect on her was their last night together. There was something about Quinn that was different that night. She was always cocky and thrived on being the one with the power and control, but that night they both let that part of themselves go. It wasn't just a random hook up and run. It was two people who not only knew the other very well, but two people despite all the bullshit they had thrown at one another throughout the years, deeply cared for each other. The both wanted to please the other and eagerly went on and on that night until they were satisfied to the fullest. And with that in her head, Santana just let it out.

"I was planning to go to Yale, to tell you I had feelings for you." Quinn was taken back, but smiled softly.

"Really?"

"Yes really, but then I thought about it, and I really didn't want to spook you and jeopardize our friendship, so I let it go."

"Huh," Quinn started to grin, and as soon as Santana saw her cocky smile she started feeling like her old self again.

"It was just a crush Q, don't get all swollen-headed now."

"Ok," she added still failing to conceal her notorious smirk. "Well, you know that probably wouldn't have changed things, regardless of how I felt in return." Santana let out a sarcastic laugh.

"That's a nice way of saying, you didn't feel the same." Quinn jerked her head at her.

"You don't know that."

"Really, so you would have said yes then?" Now Quinn's grin was gone as she started to think things over.

"To be honest, I don't know what I would have done. Did I have a little crush on you after that night, of course, but I'm not sure I would have pursued it. School was hard enough as it was freshman year, and after he tired to rape me, everything inside me felt like it just died away." Santana looked away at first, but then reached out for her hand.

"Ok, so we can't change the past, but what about now?" Again, Quinn's jerked up.

"Me and you?" Santana laughed.

"No, that's not what I meant. Do you think you'll be able to feel again now that you let what happened to you out?" Quinn was blushing as she glanced down at her hand.

"I can feel you," Santana continued to laugh.

"You know what I mean Q," Quinn nodded, but became serious.

"Yes, and I've felt more with you these last twenty-four hours than I did with anyone in years, more than Brain, more than Abel, and honestly I think the last time I actually felt anything was when I was with you." Santana inched away a bit.

"Wait Quinn, I wasn't suggesting…"

"Calm down, I'm not asking you to marry me, nor am I showing up at your doorstep with a u-haul. I'm just stating a fact. The last person I felt anything with was you, and here you are again, it's like you're destined to fix me every time I fall apart." Santana laughed.

"Well, I can honestly say I never thought I'd hear you say that about me." Quinn joined in on her laughter.

"Trust me, it burned to say it." Santana's jaw dropped and she reached for a pillow and attacked Quinn. Quinn's only defense was to tackle Santana since she tossed the other two pillows across the room. They both giggled as they rolled around in the bed feeling and acting like they were in high school again.

Finally out of breath, Santana pinned Quinn down underneath her.

"You'd think you'd learn by now that I always end up on top." Quinn let out a few chuckles as she tried to catch her breath.

"Maybe that's what I was going for," but Santana sat back up on her legs, uncertain on how to deal with what was going on.

"Quinn, I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

"Why not? You're not with anyone are you?" Santana shook her head, and was about to say something, but Quinn cut her off. "Santana, I'm not asking for anything past this moment, ok. I'm just begining to feel again, and I'm liking it. There's no one else that knows what I went through, there's no one else who knows and understands, every part of me like you do. The good and the bad, and there's no one I feel safer with or trust more than…" But Santana didn't let Quinn finish. If she was going to do this, she had to just dive right into it. Her mouth fell on top of Quinn's, and an old, yet familiar rush flowed through her. Their mouths opened, creating another sense of familiarity and Santana began to direct their tongues as they fell back on the bed.

Nothing else mattered in that moment; not only did she want to be there for Quinn, but she wanted to push the last four years without her from her memory. Santana sat up, but brought Quinn with her so that they were now both on their knees, mouths as one, and their hands slowly moving up and down each other, between their faces, their backs, to the trails of their arms, and lastly both going to remove the others shirt. They both began to laugh as they realized it was impossible to remove both shirts at the same time.

Santana went first as Quinn's eyes refused to leave hers while she lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. When she took off Santana's however, her eyes fell to her chest, moving down to her perfectly tanned fitted stomach, and Santana laughed as Quinn tried to catch her breath as she removed her own bra. Quinn mimicked her and again they went to each other, wanting to taste the longing for the other. All Santana wanted was to suck out all the hurt and evil that consumed Quinn and insert nothing by warmth and love, to have it spread throughout Quinn's body, enriching her with a new source of life.

Santana sat back for a moment doing everything in her power to not get too caught up in the moment.

"Are you sure about this?" Quinn ran her fingers down the side of Santana's face as she gazed into her eyes.

"Help me feel whole again San." Santana smiled as she laid Quinn down on the bed, then went for Quinn's neck, kissing first, before slowly nibbling sending trembles through Quinn's body, slightly intensifying Santana's assault on the other end of her neck. Quinn moaned as she pushed Santana down into her with her leg and scratch up and down her back. Santana let out a gasp and enjoyed Quinn clawing into her, but wanted this to remain about her.

Santana moved Quinn to the side wanting more of her lips. She trickled her fingers down over her stomach loving the way her soft skin felt on her fingertips, slowly moving up just below her breast. Quinn gasped, but Santana refused to leave her mouth. She kept Quinn tight against her body wanting her to feel as much of her as possible. She wanted Quinn to release every hurtful, frightening thought and memory that was bundled up inside her and feel and take in only her.

As much as Santana enjoyed the fact that Quinn's breast fit her hand perfectly they were both starting to long for more. Santana moved Quinn's own hand over to her breast, their fingers interlocked on top of it for a moment before she began to move down to caress the rest of Quinn's body. She took her time as she made her way down to Quinn's thighs, wanting to make sure that if Quinn wasn't ready to go on, she would be able stop, but Quinn only encouraged Santana with each new contact she made. Not only could Santana tell that Quinn was able to feel again, but because it had been so long, she was ultra sensitive to each and every touch.

The entire time Santana was below Quinn she would keep her eyes focused on her. She loved each new expression and sound Quinn released, but mostly she wanted to make sure she was ok with every new movement of her fingers and tongue. Finally Quinn began to jerk back, arching her body up, causing Santana to push her tongue deeper into her, wanting to be a part of, taste, and control every part of Quinn's new found excitement.

After Quinn's first release Santana moved back up to her mouth, loving how Quinn's tongue ranged from fast and twisty to slow and soothing. She stayed on Quinn's mouth this time as her fingers began to trickle back down Quinn's body; slipping two fingers easily back into her. The more Santana swirled inside Quinn the more difficult it was to keep up with her uncontrollable tongue, so she moved up to watch how Quinn face and body responded to her every move. She loved how into her Quinn was, even with her eyes closed she could tell how focus she was on what Santana was doing.

As Quinn came down the second time Santana carefully removed her fingers and placed her hand on her stomach as she brushed Quinn's hair out of her face with her other hand gently stroking all the way down her face as she looked on with nothing but care in her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Quinn let out a small chuckle still trying to get her breathing back to normal.

"Oh yeah, I haven't felt anything remotely close to that in a long time." Santana continued to run her finger down Quinn's face and through her hair, refusing to leave eye contact.

"I'm glad." Quinn began to move her hand down Santana, but she shook her head.

"I can't just not reciprocate."

"I don't need anything Q, this was about you. Plus just watching and being with you was enough for me." Quinn pulled Santana down and they gently began to kiss as Quinn wrapped her arms around Santana to cradle her in her arms.

"Thank you." She let out as she pulled back for a moment.

"Anytime."


	7. Chapter 6

_So, other than being busy I was struggling on where to go next with this fic, or course once I figured it out my hand went crazy again and the next three chapters came pretty easy, this chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but I wanted to make sure I put something up, hopefully, I'll be able to get the next one up in a few days. Let me know what you think._

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3 Months Later

Things in Santana's life were going well. She was picking up more clients with her life coaching business; particularly proud of her expansion into Connecticut, New Jersey, and even getting a few clients from Massachusetts thanks to word of mouth and the amazing reviews on her website. She had to step away from her band, which was sad, but they were hoping to start touring the country still dreaming of that big break and with her business booming there was just no way she could stay with them. She still tried going to Coyote Ugly once a week, even if she didn't pick up any shifts because there were always suits there looking for bigger and better ways to make money and who wouldn't want her as their motivator.

The biggest problem Santana was having recently was her dating life. She wasn't sure if the women out there were just getting worse, or if she just wasn't that into any of them. The funny thing was she didn't even care that she didn't have anyone in her life; at least she didn't until she received a wedding invitation in the mail from her ex Hayden. The last thing she wanted was to show up at her ex's wedding alone. Getting those, "you'll find someone," looks from Rachel and her family was bad enough. She picked up the phone and without even realizing she had done so, quickly scrolled down and hit Quinn's name. She only talked to Quinn a handful of times since Rachel and Finn's wedding, but they were both busy, and it was still more than the years before when Quinn had shut all of them out.

Like most times when they tried to reach each other Quinn's phone went straight to voice-mail.

"Hey Quinn, it's me, I was just wondering what you were doing four weeks from Saturday, my ex, Hayden is getting married, and I'm dateless, thought maybe you could use a break and have come with me to have some fun. It won't be a big wedding, so you can probably find something amazing to wear in that closet of yours, just let me know, I'll owe you big time if you say yes."

She hung up and proceeded to her computer where she had a video group session on key words and phrases to help get those promotions. Quinn was right, if someone had told Santana she was going to be a life coach, and a damn good one, five years ago, she would have laughed in their face, but she really loved her job. She poured herself a cup of coffee, threw on her reading glasses, and put her phone on silent to give her clients her undivided attention.

After her hour long video session Santana worked on her coaching tips of the week to post online. She had been working so diligently that she forgot to turn her phone back on. Realizing she missed a call from Quinn, she snagged the phone, but was hesitant to listen to the message, getting some nerves, but she quickly shook them away, and hit the listen button.

"Hey San, tag by the way. Originally, I wasn't going to say call me back, since after last time we did this, it almost took two weeks to actually talk to one another, but I couldn't pass up a game of tag. Anyway, yes I would love to go to the wedding with you, I don't think I've had a break since Rachel and Finn's wedding, so either call me back or maybe it's wise to just email me all the details and I'll be there."

Santana was glad no one was around to see the cosmic glow on her face, but she couldn't hide the fact that she really missed Quinn and was looking forward to spending more time with her especially since there time together at Rachel and Finn's wedding came to an abrupt end.

After Santana helped Quinn feel again, they lied in bed holding one another and didn't say much, probably because neither one of them wanted to ask if what happened meant more than what is was.

"A favor for a friend," Santana repeated to herself as she left Quinn after she got a frantic call from her mom stating that her car broke down, and since her father was stuck in surgery she needed a ride to her cousin's communion, and she couldn't be late because she was godmother. Quinn, of course, insisted she was ok and promised to call, which she did, but they never talked about what happened between the two off them. Actually, they never talked about anything that happened between the two of them that day. "She just wants to move past it." Santana had said to herself once a day since.

Santana tried calling Quinn back, but of course; it went to voice-mail making her laugh as she said tag and then hung up to send her an email with all the details.

The next few weeks dragged by even though Santana kept herself timelessly busy. She made a beginners step to achieve your personal goals video which was already selling well on her website, did up her coaching tips for the next two weeks so she wouldn't have to think about too much work stuff during her time up state at the wedding. She even picked up a number of shifts at the bar, since it was summer time and people always wanted time off to attend BBQ's, carnivals, and hang out down the shore. She was barely sleeping though. She was way too anxious about seeing Quinn and it was starting to drain her so she decided to turn off all her phone and take a few sleeping pills to knock herself out the Thursday night before Quinn arrived.

Unfortunately, the sleeping pills worked too well and she found herself being woken up by several poundings on her door.

"Shit," she yelled tossing on her robe and running to the door.

"Someone needs to work on her hosting abilities," Quinn said with a large smirk on her face at the door.

"Oh god, Quinn, I am so sorry. I knocked my ass out last night. I didn't think I'd actually sleep right through the alarm though."

"You're forgiven," Quinn answered giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "How about you get ready, and I'll run down to the Starbucks to get you so much needed fuel before our road trip up state."

"You're a life saver," Santana said, still fighting off the sleeping pills with a yawn. Thankfully, Santana was smart enough to pack everything she needed the night before and hopped in the shower real quick to help herself wake up, before slipping on her comfy jeans and shirt for their five hour trip up to Lake Placid. When she stepped out of her room, her bags were gone, and only two cups of coffee were lying on her kitchen counter.

"Quinn," she called out looking around, but before she called out for the second time, Quinn popped in the doorway.

"I was just showing you some generous hospitality that hopefully you can pick up on for the next time I come over. Hey, maybe you can throw that into your coaching tips for next week." Santana's jaw dropped.

"You read me coaching tips?" Quinn laughed.

"That was the only thing you heard huh?" Santana nodded as she started to blush.

"Have you read all of them?" Santana asked as she began to think back to some of her earlier tips she said after her time with Quinn last month._ Always keep communication going, learn to read between the lines, because sometimes people are trying to tell you things without saying the actual words, and always, always, be an attentive listener. _Quinn took a step closer and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey San, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. The coaching tips are really good."

"Thanks," she answered still not entirely out of her haze. Santana turned away for a moment trying to refocus, but she knew it wasn't Quinn reading her coach tips that put her in a funk, it was seeing Quinn that really did it. No matter what Santana originally thought about her feelings for Quinn, it was clear now. The old feelings she had for Quinn had fully returned and now she needed to figure out how she wanted to go about them.


	8. Chapter 7

_Cute, fun, and T folks. Taking my time with these two in this fic, so much history between them, and so much has happened those few years they didn't speak. I want to make sure I do this relationship just right._

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Santana knew she needed to say something soon once they cleared through the traffic, but she wasn't sure where to start. Sure she always had a crush on Quinn ever since Mr. Schue's Valentine's Day Wedding disaster, but as soon as she opened the door this morning and saw Quinn, even in her half sleep state she felt an instant rush shooting through her. The question now was, did Quinn feel anything for her?

Santana couldn't read Quinn too well. She was her usual fun, snappy self, but she could tell that she was also a little nervous, which could easily be because she was accompanying Santana to her ex's wedding, but she couldn't really tell either way. Now, of course, the two of them were exchanging uncomfortable glances, because of the long unusual silence that was going on between the two of them. She needed to say something to break the odd tension between in the car.

"So, how are all the crazies you're working with?" Quinn almost spit her coffee out laughing.

"You know I don't call them that right?"

"Really? Isn't it good to be honest with them?"

"Well, miss life coach, there's a little bit more to it than that, but yes, at some point we like to get down to the truth of who they are and why they do what they do."

"That's very psychiatristy of you." Quinn shook her head and laughed.

"Well, I try." Santana reached over and patted Quinn's knee.

"I'm sure you're amazing. So, speaking of crazies, any word on that ex of yours, what was his lovely name, Brain?" Quinn flinched, clearly shaken by the mention of her ex. "Oh god, what did he do now?"

"It's nothing to worry about ok?" Santana shot her a quick hard stare, before looking back at the road.

"I'm sorry; you said you read my coaching tips right, I can be patient. We still have about four hours until we get to Lake Placid, so whenever you're ready, I'm am here and willing to listen." Quinn glanced over at her and shook her head, trying not to smile.

"It's like you're taking our two fields of expertise and blending it into one." Santana loved the sound of that, but held in her gasp. "So, I guess I should just tell you now, although with you behind the wheel, I'm not sure how wise that is."

"Oh, ok, now you definitely need to spit it out."

"Just promise me, you won't crash or turn around and head to Boston."

"What?! Is it really that bad?" Santana jerked her head at Quinn

"Eyes! Road!"

"Jesus, ok." Santana gripped the wheel with two hands, and opened her eyes wide, staring at the road in front of her.

"I had to get a restraining order on Brain a few weeks ago."

"What?"

"Road!"

"Oh god fine, but don't you think you should have started on a little lighter note instead of jumping to the punch line like that." Quinn laughed.

"I thought you wanted the straight up truth." Santana shot her another quick look, but went right back to the road so she wouldn't get yelled at again.

"Smart ass," Santana took a deep breath before going on. "Ok, so why is this the first time, I'm hearing about this restraining order."

"After everything you did for me last month, I didn't want you to think you had to be my super hero and answer my ever beck and call when some jackass starts getting out of line with me."

"Superhero huh? I kind of like that though." Quinn laughed.

"Shocking, and although you have a lot of swag, I have a feeling if you came up to Boston and kick Brain's ass, you'd get arrested and wouldn't be able to talk your way out of it like most superheroes."

"Oh come on, give me some credit Quinn, I wouldn't just go up there and kick his ass." Quinn looked over with a sarcastic grin. "Ok fine, I would have killed him. You really attract a lot of winners, you know that." But Santana quickly started fumbling over her words realizing what she just brought up. "Oh god Quinn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean." But Quinn reached over and carefully rubbed her leg a few times.

"Santana, it's ok, I'm ok." Santana looked over at her unable to dry up all her tears. She heard Quinn's words, but she didn't want to ever bring up that topic, especially that way. Quinn tilted her head, looking up at her and wiped away the single tear that escaped her. "Santana, I promise, ever since Rachel and Finn's wedding, I've been free of all that pain, of all that torture, you gave me the strength to take back my life." Santana nodded, her face still tingling from Quinn's brief touch. "Actually, that's the other reason I didn't tell you. I wanted to take care of this myself."

"Really? Something like this?" Her tone soaked of concern.

"Ok, maybe you were right; I shouldn't have just blurted it out like that, especially after what I told you the last time we were together."

"Thank you." She responded with a large smile.

"It doesn't take much to make you feel better huh, or was it that you heard you were right in that last sentence."

"Somehow it just always goes back to that Quinn. You'll learn soon enough, even when I'm wrong; I still find a way to turn things around to make myself right." Now they both started laughing finally releasing all the tension in their tight closed in space.

"Ok, so what did sweet little sociopathic Brain do to get that restraining order?"

"Stupid shit actually. Calling me all hours of the night, showing up at my apartment and work with flowers and gifts. It was one of the senior doctors that ended up calling the police on him, and between my phone records and the cameras at work, they thought it was a big enough to get a restraining order out on him." Santana slapped Quinn on the leg this time.

"Yeah, you definitely shouldn't have stated with the restraining order part."

"My bad." Quinn responded with a large grin.

After the Brain discussion was over, the ride was a breeze. They talked a little bit about their jobs, there little to no social lives, and both had no love action, making Santana smile on the inside. They were having such a fun time; they didn't realize they were approaching Lake Placid until they missed the exit, unleashing a stomach pained giggle attack in the car as they tried to find their way back.

When they arrived to the hotel, Santana was surprised to see that Hayden upgraded her room to a suite and her credit card was fully reimbursed.

"Wow, and I thought getting invited to your ex's wedding showed how well things ended between the two of you, but this."

"I know," Santana turned to Quinn still not believing what Hayden had done.

"Clearly you win who has the better ex's competition." Santana glanced up and smiled.

"Told you women were better, in more ways than one evidently," Quinn blushed, snagged the room key, her bag, and skipped giddily over to the elevator.

"What are you waiting for, come on." Santana loved that Quinn still had a little kid side to her, finally not only believing, but seeing how much she had healed since they were last together.

When Quinn opened the door to the room, their jaws dropped simultaneously.

"This is incredible," she squealed, tossing her bags to the side to go and check out the luxurious room. The living room was open and wide; there was a large coach in the center that turned into a bed, a full size bathroom across from it, a full size kitchen at the entrance with a large round table. There was large desk at the far wall and two comfy recliner chairs on each side of the couch facing a 46inch TV. The main bedroom was behind another set of doors to the right of the living room, practically the same size of the living room with its own 46inch TV. Santana walked over to the king size bed and noticed a note on one of the pillows.

"_Hey there pretty lady, I'm so happy you decided to come to our wedding. I couldn't help but upgrade your room, after everything you've done for me over the years, you deserve it. I wasn't sure if your plus one was a date and didn't want to assume and set the room up with the romance package, however, there is a treat for you and your plus one in the fridge."_

"Oh my god Santana, get over here." Quinn screamed from the main bathroom. The bathroom was even more spectacular than the rest of the room, a large stand-up shower made of stone with a seat almost large enough to lay on, a giant Jacuzzi bath with a 33 inch TV above it, and a large stereo system with any music you could think of, not to mention the large sink with two stools. "I think we should move in," Quinn added still skipping as she went over to the bed and fell back onto it.

Santana bit down on her lip as she thought about moving into a place with Quinn before heading over to the bed, and handed her Hayden's note.

"Wow, seriously the best ex ever," but Santana took a seat not answering her and just nodded. "Are you ok? I didn't upset you did I? I know seeing Hayden get married can't be the easiest thing no matter how well the two of you ended things." Santana patted Quinn's leg before standing back up.

"I'm good about that actually, but it did just hit me that Hayden is getting married, where I am nowhere near finding someone to settle down with." Quinn stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Well after seeing all of this and reading that note, I never thought I'd say this," she added with a nudge, "but it looks like whoever ends up with you is going to be one lucky lady." Santana glanced over at Quinn still juggling her new butterflies that refused to leave her ever time she looked at Quinn.

"Let's see what Hayden left for us in the fridge," She said perking up taking Quinn's hand and leading her to the kitchen area.

Santana opened up the fridge and smirked at two bottles of Chardonnay and a large cheese platter made up of goat cheese, brie, and manchego.

"So, how about we change into something a little more comfortable and relax for the evening."

"Sounds perfect," Quinn replied giving her a kiss on the cheek before rummaging through the drawers for a corkscrew.

Ironically, even though there were over a hundred channels there wasn't much to watch on TV, they flipped through the channels for about fifteen minutes and were about to quit and order a movie when they stumbled upon a classic, "Rebel without a Cause."

"There's something about the old time classics that bring out romance better than today's films," Santana hummed in agreement as she finished off her glass of wine and sat the glass down. When she looked back up at Quinn, she had her arms crossed and was shivering, so Santana pulled out one of the blankets and covered her. Quinn, however, shuffled over to her and snuggled up close.

"Do you mind, your body is always so warm." Santana casually inhaled Quinn's intoxicating scent before answering.

"Not at all Q."

They only drank the one bottle of wine, realizing they had a long filling day at the wedding tomorrow and stayed bundled up tight together as they watched the well-known classic. Throughout the movie Quinn would gently brush up and down Santana's side, triggering an unintentional response from her as she rubbed Quinn's back. They didn't speak or move, they just sat there watching the movie in complete serenity.

When the movie ended the last thing Santana wanted was to move, hoping Quinn would just fall asleep in her arms, but after being all bundled up for that long, Quinn needed to stretch.

"Ok, you wanna help me get this bed out so we can get some beauty rest before the big day tomorrow." Santana of course, didn't hide her, what are you crazy like expression on her face. "Or I can do it myself." But Santana slapped her hand away from the couch.

"You're kidding me right? There's a king size bed in there and you wanna sleep out here?" Quinn shrugged making Santana laugh. "Come on Q, there's more than enough room, plus if you get cold at night I won't be too far from you." Quinn's stared at her for a moment, and Santana wished she could read her thoughts, but nothing came. She squeezed Santana's arm as she walked by and all Santana wanted to do was snag her arm, spin Quinn into her and capture her perfect mouth, but she didn't. Instead, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared her head before following Quinn into the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 8

_Sorry it took me a little longer than planned to get this one up. Another cute, T rated ch. As Always I appreciate any, and all reviews. :)_

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Although the bed was a king, a single would have sufficed with how tight together they were. Between the brisk air and Santana forgetting to turn off the AC the night before, it was freezing, and instantly Quinn latched on, without letting go of her the entire night. Santana managed to somehow wiggle out a little and reached out for the phone at some point to order room service. Quinn began to squirm, but she hurried back and re-positioned herself so she could stay comfortable for a little longer.

"You're the best," Quinn mumbled tightening her hold.

"Only to those who deserve it, which is very few," Santana replied without even thinking, but Quinn just hummed in her arms.

When room service arrived Santana gave Quinn a quick peck on the top of her head, threw on a robe since she was only in boy shorts and a tank and hurried over to the door.

"Thank you," she said giving a gracious tip, quickly rolled the cart, and started preparing the small kitchen table as Quinn slowly made her way to the doorway and leaned against it smiling.

"Why does it feel like this is my special day?" Santana glanced up and smiled back at her, then went right back to setting up the table.

"Now that just goes to show you, that you need more awesome people in your life." Quinn laughed as she walked over, took the glasses out of Santana's hand and placed them on the table.

"True, at the same time it feels like you're trying to keep busy now that your up. Are you nervous about seeing Hayden or something?" Santana shrugged, she knew seeing Hayden would probably flash a few bitter-sweet memories into her head, but what she really worried about was Quinn all of a sudden. The last twelve hours were so innocently intimate and it only confirmed that the little crush she had on Quinn grew into something much more. And now she was taking her to a wedding where she would be meeting her ex who will not doubt be able to see that Quinn means a lot to her. She really didn't want to make Quinn uncomfortable, especially since for all she knew, Quinn thought of her solely as a friend, neither one of them daring to question their time together last month as anything, but a friend helping out another friend in need.

"Hello, you there?" Quinn said, waving her hand out in front of her.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking."

"Well, how about you sit down, and tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours." Santana laughed as she took a seat.

"It's nothing really; you're probably right, just a little nervous about seeing Hayden."

"That's it, really?" Quinn asked as her eyes popped open at the lid Santana uncovered. "Wow, you really went all out."

"Hey, I can splurge a little since Hayden comped the room, plus who knows what time we'll get to eat later. You know these things, they can really draw out certain parts, not that I think Hayden enjoys torturing her guest like Rachel, but you never know; sometimes unnatural beings take over bride's minds." Quinn laughed.

"Well, hopefully they won't get you when you're a bride, which will be sooner than you think."

"Are you proposing?" Again Santana let her words fall out of her mouth without her brain giving them the approval and she turned bright red, making Quinn smirk.

"Who knows, keep this treatment up, and I just might." She replied with a wink, not helping Santana's already rosy face. They dropped the flirtatious banters as they ate their breakfast and just talked about random things, almost forgetting they needed to get ready for the wedding.

"Well, breakfast was delicious." Quinn said, standing up, "go ahead and use the fancy bathroom and don't you dare protest with me, you've more than made up for your poor hospitality yesterday morning when I came to pick you up." Santana's jaw dropped, and was surprised she was finding it so difficult to throw a snappy comment back at Quinn, who was laughing at her frozen face as she walked past her and into the smaller bathroom.

Santana walked into the master bathroom, closed the door, and fell back on the it trying to shake herself out of her Quinn trance, but after thinking about it for a minute realized she didn't want to be snapped out of it. She loved the way Quinn made her feel. They could talk for hours and would bounce sarcastic lines off each other, but it wasn't like in high school when the words were harsh, hoping to burn one another, it was more playful and flirtatious now. The only issue was Santana had no idea if Quinn wanted something more or if she was entirely comfortable with their friendship the way was.

Santana stepped in the shower and after going through the eight different water heads found the perfect pressure. She couldn't shake the thoughts of Quinn and decided to close her eyes and imagine her with her instead; her fingers slowly running through Quinn's hair, her hands carefully washing over Quinn's body, admiring every inch of Quinn, taking a moment to kiss the handful of scars on her body from her rough high school days, making sure to take notes with her eyes at every sensitive area, to know ever part of Quinn completely.

Santana opened her eyes realizing she was starting to get pruny already and she still had to wash her hair. She quickly washed up, finally taking a minute to appreciate the magnificent shower she was in, thinking for a second it was a shame only one person was in there to enjoy it. Santana threw on her robe and took a peek out of the bathroom and saw Quinn going through her bag.

"Hey Q, I appreciated the shower, but how about you get ready in here. I feel like it's going to waste with only one of us using it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, plus we can help each with our makeup and hair." Quinn's smile warmed her all over as she gathered her things and headed into the master bathroom.

"Seriously, when I buy a house, I want this bathroom, make sure I remember that." Santana laughed.

"No problem."

They helped each other straighten the others hair and picked out each others favorite makeup to match their outfits, both laughing at the fact that they both picked out something blue. Santana's a dark navy, while Quinn's was a softer baby blue to match her smooth snow-white skin. They slipped on a light jacket, grabbed their purses, and were actually out the door with time to spare.

Quinn suggested they get a quick drink before they left to loosen up Santana's nerves.

"I'm paying," she said as she glanced down at Santana who was opening her purse making her laugh.

"Oh, I know. I was just making sure I had my compact," she replied, nudged Quinn playfully, glad all her comments hadn't escaped her.

"Two tequila sunrises," Quinn ordered, as Santana looked over at her impressed.

"Someone's not messing around."

"Hey, we're here to have a good time right? I made sure I ordered something with orange juice in it at least, since it's only 11:50."

"Very wise my friend," Santana answered as the bartender slid the drinks down to them. The drinks were exactly what Santana needed, but she knew she had to be careful tonight. If she drank too much, her feelings for Quinn would fall out of her and probably not in the best way. After their drink, Santana called for a town car to pick them up, not wanting to take any chances of either of them drinking too much and getting behind the wheel.

They pulled up to the clubhouse, still with plenty of time to spare. They walked through the entry hall to the back where the doors were all opened; exposing the gorgeous setting the ceremony would be taking place. There were white rose pedals sprinkled across the chairs, and leading down the walkway to the vine tangled gazebo overlooking the lake, with a single willow tree to the left, completing the already breath-taking view.

"Ok, I'm serious, if this is your way of proposing to me, my answer is yes." Quinn said her mouth nowhere near closing as she looked on with awe.

"If I knew how easy it was to please you, I would have, but I'll be sure to keep this in the back of my head." Quinn glanced over and smiled, but it didn't appear that she heard anything Santana said looking completely caught up in the intoxicating atmosphere. Santana looked down at her hand and decided to take a chance and took hold of it gently.

"You wanna take a walk around." Quinn hummed as Santana led her down the white stoned path that circled the lake. Quinn continued to take in their surrounding as Santana couldn't help but take in Quinn's magnificent beauty, her skin appearing to sparkle as the suns rays bounced off her. Once they saw most of the guest arriving they decided to walk back, and took a seat near the middle on Hayden's side of course.

It wasn't long until the music began to play and Quinn recognized the song playing, but not the voice.

"Ok, that's Phantom of the Opera's, "All I ask of you" right?" Santana looked over at her and smiled softly as she nodded. "Who's singing it?"

"Hayden," Quinn stared at Santana and smirked. "What, I have a specific type apparently, pretty blondes who can sing and dance, is that so wrong?" Quinn's smirk remained as she looked back as Hayden, the first bride, began to walk down the aisle. Hayden was wearing a strapless, A-line Satin gown with a dropped waist. Her hair was down, but partly pulled back with a few simple curls dangling just over her shoulders.

"Wow, San, she's gorgeous." Santana looked back and took notice of Hayden, but when Quinn spoke; her focus fell directly on her.

"Yeah, she really is incredibly beautiful." Quinn glanced back at her, but Santana couldn't remover her eyes from Quinn who blushed before looking back, waiting for the second bride to make her way down the aisle. Thankfully, the second bride took some of the heat off their momentary tension as Quinn began to giggle.

"Apparently, Hayden has a type too." Santana couldn't help, but laugh.

"Ah, yes, that would be Maria, the Puerto Rican beauty from Queens." Maria's dress was a Petite beaded lace trumpet, very fitting, yet elegant. "Don't let that cute little thing fool you though. She's feisty. Definitely a girl I would want in my corner in a fight." Quinn laughed quietly as she turned back around and faced the two stunning brides at the gazebo giving Santana's leg a few squeezes before they started to speak.

Santana appreciated the lovely, yet short ceremony, and got a wink from Hayden as she and Maria walked backed down the aisle at the conclusion of the ceremony. The people began to head back under the deck areas of the club house, the reception being half inside, half outside. Santana went to get up, but Quinn remained seated, dapping at her eyes.

"You ok Q?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It was just a really beautiful ceremony, that's all." Santana sat back down and rubbed Quinn's knee as she fixed herself up a bit.

"It was, wasn't it? Hayden and Maria did up the entire ceremony, the music, the words, everything. They really wanted everyone to not only see, but hear and feel their love for one another."

"Well, it worked, however, why aren't you crying?" Quinn asked cocking her head at her.

"I guess I take things in differently." Quinn continued to stare at her, causing Santana to lose her breath momentarily. "You know, you're even more stunning when you cry." Quinn shook her head unable to respond, Santana finally beginning to feel that there might be something there for her too.

"What is it about us and weddings?" Santana asked letting out a soft laugh. She stood up and helped Quinn do the same. Quinn adjusted her hair and Santana couldn't help but fix one of her strands that was beginning to develop a mind of its own. Quinn reached up and placed her hand on top of Santana's as it fell to her cheek. Quinn's eyes captivating her as she uncontrollably leaned in placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "Shall we head in?" She asked pulling back with a smile, Quinn mimicking hers as she nodded in return as they walked to the reception area hand in hand.


	10. Chapter 9

_Ok guys, after this chapter it's going to be at least two weeks until the next update. Summer came up on me a lot faster than I was prepared for and although it's all good things, I don't have a lot of time to type up everything I have written. As always, I love hearing what everyone has to say! Hope everyone is having a nice summer so far! _

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Santana held out her arm and Quinn took it gladly as they walked to the reception area. Quinn tightened her grip as a few people walked by greeting them, all friendly, yet they could both tell each group that had passed was curious about their being more to them than just friends as they claimed. Santana of course, knew the best cure to their unsettling nerves and lead Quinn to the open bar.

"What will it be?" Quinn looked over at her and bit her lip as she thought.

"I think I'll try something new, you're the expert, you pick."

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle what I throw at you?" Santana shot back as her eyebrows jerked up and down.

"Positive," Quinn answered confidently. Santana turned to the bartender and without missing a beat ordered a crown royal on the rocks, with a splash of cherry juice and three cherries in each.

"All night," she added slamming a twenty on the bar.

"Comin right up."

"Crown?" Quinn asked inching up next to her.

"Is that ok?"

"Absolutely."

The bridal party soon arrived and everyone looked on gaily as the newlyweds entered. Santana took a brief moment to admire and appreciate her old times with Hayden, but quickly put her focus back on Quinn. There were a few friends of Hayden's she introduced to Quinn, who were more gutsy about taking her to the side to ask if Quinn was her new someone special, but Santana only answered them with a smile, not wanting to lie, because Quinn was more than something special to her, even if they hadn't discussed anything further yet.

Hayden's parents caught Santana's eye at some point and ran over extremely delighted to see her, and Santana couldn't help but giggle at Quinn's constant astonishing expressions with each new person approaching her.

"Why do I have a feeling if I told all these people about some of your monstrous ways in high school they would look at me like I was a mad man?" Quinn whispered into her ear after Hayden's parents left.

"Because to them, I'm an angel."

"Ok, I love you Miss Santana Lopez, but the last thing you are, is an angel. In fact, I prefer you when you tune in to your more unangelic side." Santana's mouth dropped as she glanced over at her.

"Maybe we should ease up on those crowns, you're getting quite feisty." They both laughed as they headed over to the table to get something to eat.

Soon after they hit the dance floor, completely forgetting there was anyone else around them as they bounced about to the upbeat songs, and held each other close with the slow songs. Things couldn't have been going better as Santana kept Quinn close to her at all times, not wanting this night to ever end. She loved seeing Quinn light up to each new song acting like they were all her favorite. Santana didn't even care if Quinn caught her staring at her half the time. They were having such a wonderful time, Santana almost forgot who's wedding they were at until Hayden finally pulled her off the dance floor.

"Oh my god, I am so happy you're here." Hayden cried, pulling her in for a long hug.

"Of course, thanks for the upgrade by the way. Quinn and I took full advantage of that gift."

"Full advantage huh?" Hayden repeated making her blush.

"Not like that, I forgot you could be more perverted than me sometimes."

"Not possible Lopez." Again they hugged and when they pulled away, Santana snagged Quinn's arm.

"Speaking of, this is Quinn."

"Hi Quinn, thanks for coming."

"Thank you for having us. That luxurious room is nothing compared to this magnificent setting, and you and Maria are absolutely gorgeous." Hayden smiled as she hugged Quinn, then brushed the side of Santana's face.

"Please call me in a few weeks and we'll all get together. It was great meeting you Quinn, take care of her will ya."

"I will." Quinn answered softly.

Again they hit the dance floor, but were constantly interrupted this time with people continually saying how incredible Santana was and that whoever lands her would have to be a real lucky lady. As much fun as they were having Quinn was beginning to act a little skittish.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just getting tired, but I guess three crowns will get to you sooner rather than later." Santana let out an uncomfortable laugh as Quinn went to sit down. Santana decided to make her goodbye rounds, which took longer than expected then called the town car to pick them up.

The ride back to the Hotel was deathly quiet, which really started to bug Santana. Everything was going perfectly smooth one minute, to the point where she really started to feel comfortable about revealing her feelings to Quinn, and then next thing she knew Quinn was distant and apprehensive. Someone had to have said or did something at the reception to make her do a one-eighty like this, but she didn't even know what to do or say to get her out of her funk as she glanced over and saw Quinn tight up against the door.

As soon as Santana closed the door to the hotel room though she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care what they said or talked about as long as the silence was broken, but before she could voice anything Quinn had spun around.

"San, I'm really sorry." That of course took her by surprise, because she wasn't expecting Quinn to pop out of her funk on her own. "Oh god, you hate me now, don't you? I ruined the wedding for you, didn't I?" Santana shook her head as she bounced her hands up and down to try and calm Quinn.

"No, you didn't ruin anything, but I would like to know what's going on with you all of a sudden. I thought you were having a good time and then you went off and flaked out on me."

"I know, I'm sorry, it just hit me what was happening and I couldn't handle it." Santana took a deep breath, not liking the way that sounded, but made sure to control herself for an already frazzled Quinn as she took a step closer to her.

"And what do you think is happening exactly?" Quinn looked down for a moment shaking her head. When she looked back up her mouth was open as if she was trying to catch her breath and stop the tears that were quickly building up.

"I can see it when you look at me San. I know you have feelings for me." Santana was a little taken back, not realizing how blatantly obvious she was about her feelings, but didn't show them this time, not wanting to distract Quinn. She needed her to pour out whatever it was inside her, whether it was good or bad. "And each time you introduced me to someone I felt it more and more, and as much as I would love to be something more with you. I don't know if I can."

Well that was something, but Santana knew she needed more. She wasn't going to let Quinn just push her away and leave it like that. She walked over to her, carefully reaching out for her hand, and guided her over to the couch. She grabbed a few tissues off the side table and handed them to Quinn giving her a few minutes before continuing on.

"Ok, I'm not trying to pressure you here Quinn, but do you think you can tell me why you don't think you can be with me?" Quinn glanced up for a minute, but her eyes quickly fell on the tissue she was playing with and took a few more heavy breaths before speaking.

"Because apparently you're wonder woman; every person we talked to tonight seemed to be talking you up more and more. I mean, I get that you've changed a lot since high school. I saw that last month when you were so strong and patient with me, but it's like just when you think you can't get any better, another person adds on another spectacular topping." Santana giggled a little.

"Well, I'm far from wonder woman, but if you would like to role play one day, I'm fine with that." She replied, getting a small smile out of Quinn.

"Ok, so you're not wonder woman, but you're definitely a catch, while I'm still trying to pick up a lot of the pieces of my last five years. Yes, I'm doing better, but I'm still struggling with a few things, dating pretty much being on the top of that list, and I don't want to do anything to harm our friendship. I mean I just got you back and the last thing I want is to push you away again, because I could be a real mess some days, and that's when I'm going to push the hardest." Again, Santana smiled.

"Yeah, but we've already been down that road, and I'm back in your life now, and no matter how hard you push, I'm not going anywhere." Quinn glanced up at her, but again went back down to the tissue in her hand. "Look Quinn, the last thing I want to do is to force you into something. So if you're not ready, that's ok. The fact that you know how I feel and apparently have feelings for me in return is a step at picking up some of those broken pieces. We don't have to do anything else until you're ready."

"I just think you deserve so much more than what I'll ever be able to give you. I mean who knows how long it's going to take me to feel normal again and from the way everyone talked about you tonight, you deserve someone perfect." Santana reached over and lifted Quinn's chin so that she was now looking directly at her.

"I had the perfect relationship Q, and I watched her get married today. Perfect doesn't suit me. I need a little messiness here and there to keep me on my toes, to keep me grounded." Quinn took another breath and although nothing left her mouth, she didn't move her eyes off Santana. "So you let me know what you want and I'll be ok with whatever that is." Quinn nodded before falling into her arms.

They sat there for a while, Santana gently stroking Quinn's hair, trying to control her own emotions from spiraling out of control with Quinn in her arms. She longed for this to be a recurring thing between them, but was now back to not knowing what Quinn was thinking. She loved hearing that she had feelings for her, but she was scared Quinn was too frightened to actually give those feelings a chance, not knowing that she could actually help her get through these next phases of moving pass the terrible things of her past, but it had to be her call. Santana could only help her if she was willing to take her in.

"Hey San," she finally let out in a whisper.

"Yeah sweetie."

"Can we change out of these clothes?" Santana laughed.

"Yes, we definitely can do that."

They helped each other unzip their dresses and Santana did her best to keep her eyes off Quinn as she slipped out of hers, not wanting to scare Quinn anymore than she already was if she was caught gawking at her. They washed up next, neither one saying much and just as Santana hoped into bed Quinn remained standing.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to just get into bed after leaving you in limbo?"

"It's ok. You are more than welcome to sleep in here again tonight, unless you're uncomfortable, and I'll completely understand." Quinn shook her head, but smiled.

"You're not supposed to be perfect remember?" Santana laughed.

"Fine, get your cute ass into this bed, or I'll make you regret it." Quinn giggled as she crawled under the covers. Santana glad she was able to lighten up the mood a little more.

Quinn hesitated for a moment, but after getting a light head shake and a smack from the no longer perfect Santana, she was back to being a magnet against Santana's warm body. Santana made sure to hold her tight, again never getting enough of these intimate moments.

"I really do want this, you know. No one else has ever made me feel so safe and whole in my life. I'm just really scared to lose you if I fuck it all up." Santana inched over a bit as she looked down at Quinn.

"Hey, you will never lose me. I know getting together won't be easy, it's you and me for crying out loud, but whatever you do or decide, I'll still be right here for you." Quinn bent down, kissed Santana's arm and snuggled closer to her as Santana continued to stroke her hair until she fell asleep.

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_If anything is a little too choppy, let me know. I can definitely do touch-ups while I'm out and about. _


	11. Chapter 10

_Not the longest chapter, but since I've been MIA for the last few weeks, I wanted to get something out there. Hope you all like it._

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Santana repeated the same breakfast routine the next morning, ordering them some breakfast and cuddling back up to Quinn whose arm felt like it was glued to her wherever she went. When room service came, Santana kissed Quinn on the top of her head, tip-toed over to the door, tipped the staff member, but this time instead of setting up their meal at the kitchen table, wheeled the cart into the bedroom where Quinn was still sleeping, now curled up with Santana's pillow. She could wait for Quinn if she wasn't ready yet, there was no one else Santana wanted to go out with anyway. The dating pool was one dreadful blunder after another; Quinn was the only one that felt right. Santana continued to daydream, not realizing how much time had passed until Quinn peeked up at her.

"You ok?" She asked with a simple smile. Santana's eyes widened embarrassed that Quinn had caught her in la la land.

"Yeah, sorry I was just thinking."

"About what?" Quinn asked, sitting up, but still holding her pillow. Santana looked over at her for a minute, not wanting to hide anything from her.

"That I would wait, if you wanted me too." Now Quinn was the one staring and Santana couldn't help but let a half-smile through. Quinn didn't respond, but once she was out of her trance she patted down on the bed next to her so they could enjoy their breakfast in bed together.

They ate in silence, each taking momentary glances at one another. Quinn at least appeared to be doing better than the night before, but once again, Santana couldn't tell what that meant.

Santana decided to make small chat as they packed up for the ride home since the silence started to get her nerves tossing and turning. They kept things simple as they finished up and made their way down to the car. Quinn ran off to buy them two more cups of coffees for the ride as Santana checked out. When Quinn got in the car she leaned over and softly kissed Santana on the cheek as she handed her the coffee. Santana hummed as she took a glimpse over, and privately smirked at the bubblier looking Quinn.

Things remained quiet for a few more minutes, but as Santana pulled onto the freeway she caught Quinn staring over at her.

"Ok." Santana took a glance at her, not hiding the now terrifying look on her face.

"Oh god. Why do you insist on having these serious conversations while I'm behind the wheel?" Quinn laughed.

"How do you know I'm going to say something serious?"

"Your tone genius," she snapped back.

"Oh, sarcastic, asshole Santana is finally making an appearance, thank god, I was beginning to think she was dead." Santana began to loosen up as she laughed a little.

"What can I say Q, you always find a way to bring her out in me."

"Yeah, but it's like you're trying now, it used to come so easy to you." Quinn shot back with a large crooked grin.

"Why do you always have to call me out on my shit, good or bad, you always have to do it?"

"Isn't that what you love about me?" But Quinn's face froze and she quickly looked away from her, but all Santana did was laugh at her nervous state.

"Q, it's ok, and yes it's one of the many things I like a lot about you." Quinn glanced back up at her. "Is that better?" Santana added making her smile.

"Yeah."

Their mood was finally feeling like it was getting back to normal and Santana couldn't be happier. She wanted Quinn to know she was ok with everything and that nothing would change between them, no matter what happened and she exhaled happily in relief as she refocused on the road.

"So, what was this ok about by the way?" Quinn looked over at her again, not saying anything for a minute.

"Ok, let's try this." Santana's head jerked along with the wheel, slightly weaving out of the lane for a brief moment. "Alright, you have a point!" Quinn shrieked, still bracing herself as Santana straightened the car out. "Maybe we shouldn't do any more serious conversations while you're driving."

"You think!" Santana shouted, gripping the wheel, still a little shaken by her reaction. "Just when you thought being with me was safe, I go ahead and almost kill you." Quinn laughed.

"Relax drama queen, you briefly skidded off the shoulder and there's not even another car in sight, let's not exaggerate things." Quinn answered, shaking her head, but Santana was too worked up to joke back. Quinn reached over carefully and began to rub Santana's thigh. "And you will always make me feel safe, crazy-ass driving and all." Santana took a few deep breaths trying to get her heart rate back down before going on with the conversation.

"Ok, so are serious about this? Do you really want to give this a try, because last night you seemed petrified about the whole dating thing?"

"Yes, I'm serious, but we need to take this slow."

"I get that," Santana answered trying to control her body from a new, but giddy set of emotions flowing through her.

"Are you sure you're ok with that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because last month, when you were helping me, you know, feel again, you didn't let me reciprocate, which I still feel guilty about by the way. And now I'm asking you to basically deal with my insanely, unpredictable range of emotions, which means, until I get a good grasp on them, I don't think we should sleep together. I feel like a tease."

"You are." Santana said with a smirk. "But a tease worth waiting for." Quinn smiled back.

"You do realize there's another problem." Quinn started.

"What's that?" Santana asked, loving the deep pondering look on Quinn's face.

"Every big step we've made in our relationship, has been after a wedding. How can any of our dates compete with that?"

"Well, we can be wedding crashers." Santana fired back, making Quinn giggle.

"Seriously, we might have to be." Santana looked back at the road as she thought.

"Well, we can have a complete backwards relationship from here on out."

"How does that work?"

"Think about it, we've slept with each other, we've been to several weddings with one another, one being a weekend getaway; we've already tackled the three biggest things people do after being in a long-term relationship. Plus, we already know each others families, which is usually the most terrifying step."

"Ok, so what kind of date would we have gone on before we conquered all of those things?" Santana smiled.

"An extravagant night out in the city."

"That's not taking things very slow though is it?" Santana smirked at Quinn.

"Do you trust me?" Quinn glanced over at Santana's now serious face.

"Of course."

"Then let me do this for you. I'm fully aware you want to take things slow and we will, but that doesn't mean we have to do coffee, and pizza and beer type dates, unless you want to start with a Starbucks date?" Quinn grinned at her, and Santana knew she had her.

"Ok, I trust you, our first date is in your hands." Santana reached over, grabbed Quinn's hand and brought it to her mouth, gently kissing it before bringing it back down to her leg, keeping her hand on top of Quinn's. Quinn smiled and looked out the window, before coming up with a mindless topic that kept them busy the rest of the way home, officially making it the best car ride ever.


	12. Chapter 11

_Ok, I really wanted to get this out faster, but of course things started to get hectic again. So for now on I'm not going to promise future chapters within a certain time frame, cause I just suck at sticking to them. Anyway, really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you guys like it!_

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Another three weeks had passed before Santana and Quinn were able to set aside a weekend for Quinn to come down for their extravagant date in the city. Santana was a nervous-wreck as she planned their date; double, sometimes triple checking things to make sure they were all in order. Quinn agreed that she could set up the date for Friday night, if on Saturday, they could just have a movie marathon, where they could mock a few cheesy movies and talk, which she was more than ok with.

Santana paced back and forth, making fun of herself in whispers, waiting for Quinn to arrive. She was wearing a dark velvet dress with black rose patterns, with her favorite strappy black high-heels, which would pain her after a while, but she kept reminding herself that it would be worth it.

When Quinn knocked on the door, Santana raced over, but straightened herself and took a deep breath before opening it.

"Hey."

"You're dressed?" Quinn asked frazzled.

"Yeah, sorry. I was getting antsy and needed to do something before I drove myself crazy." Quinn still looked somewhat horrified, standing in the doorway. "It's ok Q, no rush, I know you just got off the train and need to shower and get yourself together, really, its ok, we have plenty of time." Quinn still looked terrified, but walked in as Santana casually took her bags.

"Sorry San, I'm just a little nervous."

"It's ok, I had a feeling you would, but try to trust me." Quinn softly smiled and nodded as she headed to the bathroom.

"Oh, by the way," Quinn started as she looked over her shoulder, "you look really pretty."

"Thanks," Santana answered just as soft.

Once the shower started Santana went to the fridge and took out a large, dark pink small bundle of roses, and displayed them neatly on the counter. She then checked the time and made a few phone calls before moving over to rest on her sofa to wait. Santana flicked through the channels and of course found nothing at all entertaining and decided to pick out as many cheesy movies she could find on her rack to shorten Quinn's choices for the next day.

It was quarter after six when Quinn stepped out of the bathroom in a pale blue dress with a thin lining of trim lace at the bottom, her hair, partly pulled back with a matching band. She was the image of innocence.

"Wow," Santana stood up trying not to gawk. "You look breathtakingly perfect." Quinn's small smile grew from earlier, but she was still clearly nervous as she stepped closer, finally catching the small rose display on the kitchen counter.

"Are those?"

"For you," Santana replied trying to contain her excitement. She walked over to the counter and met Quinn, picking up the flowers. "I was trying to find the perfect flower for this occasion, the one I really liked online was the Arborvitae, which is said to represent eternal friendship, but sadly it's more of a tree that sprouts little cute flowers. I was thinking of maybe getting you a plant, but between getting it back to Boston, and keeping it in an apartment which is not the most ideal place for them, plus your demanding schedule." Quinn's hand reached up to her arm, stopping her rambling.

"It's good to see you a little nervous too." She added with a giggle, making Santana blush.

"Anyway," she started as she began to regain her confidence, "dark pink roses represent gratitude."

"Gratitude?" Quinn asked curiously.

"Yeah, they are to say thank you for coming here and trusting me, and for giving this a chance." Quinn let out some air, as she looked down at the flowers, then leaned in and applied a delicate kiss to Santana's cheek.

"I guess I'll keep them here so they won't get ruined."

"Actually, there's a place set up for them already." Quinn took a look around, but was baffled.

"Where?"

"You'll see." Santana replied as she gracefully took Quinn's hand. Quinn smirked, but obliged as Santana led her out of the apartment.

When Santana opened the door leading into the apartment building, there, before their eyes, was a 1956 Rolls Royce Phantom with the chauffeur already holding the door open for the both of them.

"Ms. Lopez, Ms. Fabray."

"Thank you," Santana answered as she guided a star-struck Quinn to the car.

"You can't be serious?" Quinn finally let out as she stepped up to the open door.

"Oh, but I am. Go ahead, step in." Quinn easily stepped in and saw a large spot to place her flowers across from the seats, and lying next to the holder for the flowers was a bottle of decently priced champagne.

"Looks like you weren't kidding?" Quinn giggled as Santana poured them two glasses of champagne while the drivers eased out of his parking spot. "Did you double his pay so that he would drive extra cautious? Quinn asked with a smirk, "because I know how these city drivers are, this it like driving Miss. Daisy." Santana laughed.

"It's not his first time driving carefully, these cars are usually meant for happy newlyweds. I thought I'd stick to our wedding themed date a little bit." Quinn giggled a little more, then leaned in a grazed Santana's lips.

"So far, so good San," Santana smiled in return as she gazed into Quinn's eyes. No matter how badly she wanted to pull Quinn back for a longer kiss, Quinn was going to be the one in charge of that part of their night.

The driver took his time, and although there wasn't much out of the ordinary going on out in the streets of New York, there was always loads to see, the different types of people, the stores, the insane bikers weaving in and out of traffic, all so ordinary for any New Yorker, and although Quinn had been to New York more than a dozen times, she still found it fascinating, pointing out random things here and there as they made their way to their first destination. Santana's face was beginning to hurt from smiling so largely, but she didn't care, Quinn was starting to feel comfortable and was looking more excited about their date with each passing minute.

Their driver pulled up to one of New York's finest steak houses and adjusted his hat and suit as he rounded the classic car and carefully reached out and helped Santana and Quinn out.

"A steak house?"

"Of course, chicken or steak, or sometimes chicken or fish, crème de la crème at weddings." Again Quinn giggled.

"Very nice."

They walked into the dim-lit restaurant and were greeted almost immediately.

"Ms. Lopez?"

"Yes."

"Right this way ma'am," Quinn looked at her baffled some more and after they were seated, continued staring at her in disbelief, making Santana laugh.

"What?"

"You're such a shit you know that, what?"

"Ms. Fabray, language please, this restaurant comes highly recommended and such language is certainly not permitted." Quinn gave her a light tap under the table, as Santana laughed some more before filling her in. "One of my clients is married to one of the owners, so I asked for a favor, not much, but I hate waiting, and since that was all I requested, it wasn't too hard to do, I think we get like ten percent off the bill too, not that I'm worried about that." Quinn's face lit up as she lightly shook her head.

"I can't imagine what else you have planned."

"Patience my dear, well get to everything else soon enough, but for now, lets take this part in."

"Deal."

Everything looked more than appetizing as they both skimmed the menu, ordering a bottle of Cab and a Caprese salad as they both played eeny, meeny, miny, moe on the menu.

"Ok, how about this? I'll get the Filet and you get the Chicken Marsala and we'll split it." Santana suggested still not looking quite convinced.

"That's perfect." Quinn snagged the menus and placed them to the side, sealing the deal before anything else caught their eye. Santana was glad too, because now all her attention could stay on the porcelain beauty in front of her. They talked about work a little, before moving on to discuss how Quinn was doing emotionally, which dealing with her attack was harder than she thought it was going to be.

"It's like, after it happened, I completely shut down and never thought about it, and now its like I popped open a can of warms, and everything that happened became so clear, and everything I did afterwards I find myself criticizing and ashamed."

"Have you thought about talking to a professional?" Santana asked slightly nervous, which thankfully Quinn read and reached over to gently rubbed her hand.

"Yes and no, I know I probably should since I feel more victimized now than I did when it happened, which I still can't believe was four years ago. I wish I could just be stubborn, and apply that just get through it and move on attitude, but it just doesn't work that way, no matter how much I want it it to. So I think once I get back to Boston, I'll start looking around for some professional help. There's just so much I have to look forward to now and I don't want what that son of bitch did to me holding me back anymore." Santana gave her a proud smile as she nodded, but began to shake it away.

"I hope I didn't bother you by asking how you were holding up; I guess that wasn't the brightest topic to talk about on our first official date." But Quinn was now squeezing her hand.

"Actually, that's exactly why I decided to give this a chance." Now Santana was the one who looked baffled. "You're super cure when you're confused, do you know that?" Santana shook her comment away as she started to blush. "Seriously though, I meant it when I said you make me feel safe. You helped me open up that part of me I was trying so desperately to keep hidden deep inside, making feel absolutely nothing. You were the one who wouldn't let it consume me any longer. I feel like I can share anything with you. I feel safe, free, and it's all because of you. There's no one else that has ever made me feel this way." Santana made sure to hold in the tears as she looked into Quinn's honest eyes, and thankfully the waiter came with their meals distracting them so she could nonchalantly dap her eyes.

Their conversation for the rest of dinner stayed on a more light note. Santana filled Quinn in on all the incredible parades that happened after DOMA was struck down, mesmerized and deeply touched by each person she met. Then Quinn of course almost made her laugh so hard that wine almost shot out of her nose after she told her about the one doctor who was fired, and went on a rampage as he left, creating a bigger scene than any of their clients ever did. Two hours had passed in a breeze and it wasn't until the last drop of the wine dripped into Quinn's glass that Santana even looked at her watch.

"Wow, I guess we really do go on and on. Dessert?"

"Hmm…maybe."

"Would you like something a little more on the basic end?"

"Do you have something already planned?" Quinn asked with a smirk.

"Nothing in particular, but I did plot out a few places on the way to our next destination; pretzels, cupcakes, ice cream?"

"Mmm, ice cream."

"Done." Santana said as she got the waiters attention.

"You wanna walk?" Santana asked as they stepped outside.

"Sure it's cooled off a bit." Santana lifted her finger and ran off to tell the driver, and as he pulled away Quinn came up and interlocked their hands. They continued talking as Santana guided Quinn to the ice cream parlor, which was only a few blocks down. Like at dinner, Santana and Quinn ordered two different things to share, because of the countless options of ice cream, and instead of sitting, continued to walk, both feeding each other as they went while their conversation refused to die.

Their next destination, although obvious to the New York sky, took Quinn by surprise.

"The Empire State Building?" Santana smiled.

"Well I was going to be even more cliché with a horse and buggy ride around central park, but that lovely smell of manure tends to stick to your clothes, so maybe when we're not all dressy will give it a try. This," Santana said, motioning her hand up high to the sky, "fits with a perfectly romantic evening. Does it not?" Quinn smiled as they tossed their cups in the trash and headed to the bathroom to clean off their hands, which no matter how careful or how many napkins you use, still manages to get your fingers sticky.

Santana snuck out first and hurried over to the information desk. It wasn't too long before Quinn came up behind her, wrapped her arms around her waist, and sat her chin down on Santana's shoulder.

"What are you up to now?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." Santana answered turning her head and gently grazing Quinn's nose with a kiss.

It was a little after nine o'clock when they reached the top of the infamous building, and they were both speechless as they stepped out on the observation deck.

"Have you ever been up here?" Quinn asked.

"Once, in the day time, which is nothing compared to this. Have you?"

"No," Quinn answered breathless.

Santana and Quinn casually walked from one end to the next, gazing out at the magnificent city, and for the first time that night, both not saying much. Instead, they continued to look out and take the city in. After going full circle, they took a seat needing to relax their feet for a bit.

"You know sometimes New Yorkers, even baby New Yorkers like me forget how much this city has to offer. There's so much that we just brush over, because it's "touristy stuff," but we should really take advantage of it, because all this "touristy stuff," has so much to offer, has so much History, it's all so incredibly powerful and beautiful."

"You're incredibly powerful and beautiful," Quinn let out a looking over at her. Santana met her gaze and wanted nothing more than to lean to complete their perfect moment, and it felt like Quinn was about to, until she took another glance around.

"Wait, where is everybody? Is it time to go back down already?" But Santana only answered her with a smirk, took her hand, and started to walk around the corner where a small string percussion was set up and started playing as soon as they turned the corner.

"What, how did you?"

"I used to be in a band remember, I have connections."

"But here, on top of the Empire State Building?"

"Ah, that was a little tricky, let's just say we only have ten minutes." Quinn turned and faced her completely in awe and Santana couldn't help, but brush back a few of her hairs that were taken by the wind.

"You're remarkable."

"I told you I'd take you out for a luxurious night in the city." Quinn shook her head.

"Yeah, and you weren't kidding." Quinn playfully slapped her, but was soon caught back up in each other. She stepped in and gently kissed Santana's upper lip, and at first Santana thought she was going to pull back, but instead Quinn's hand found the base of her back and kept her close. Again, even with Quinn taking the lead, she didn't want her to feel forced and waited for Quinn's lips to part before grazing each others tongue. It may not have been anything extravagant, but it was the perfect kiss for where they were; simple, soft, and absolutely spectacular.


End file.
